


Wright v. Murdock

by Spinning_Mouse, tanya3140



Category: Daredevil (Comics), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, M/M, Other, References to Drugs, matt murdock/foggy nelson - Freeform, miles edgeworth/phoenix wright - Freeform, relationships aren't in main tag since they're mostly implied and not central to the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-03-07 08:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spinning_Mouse/pseuds/Spinning_Mouse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanya3140/pseuds/tanya3140
Summary: Phoenix Wright finds himself up against a new prosecutor, a certain Matt Murdock, as he defends a new client against a murder charge.  Too absolutely nobody's surprise, things get complicated fast, and a little weird when red leather gets involved. Phoenix may not believe in bad omens, but a red demon with horns showing up in town is a little much even for him.





	1. Trial Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Because I'm a lazy writer, you need to know the Ace Attorney games to fully understand stuff I talk about and reference (like magatamas and whatnot). It'll probably just be super confusing if you know nothing about Ace Attorney. You don't need to know much about Daredevil tbh, besides that he's a blind lawyer who fights crime in a red suit with horns. Also, if you know the tv show and not the comics, that's not a big deal. The only important thing is that in the comics right now Matt is a prosecutor instead of a defense attorney.

Phoenix knew it was going to be a bad day when it began with him getting knocked to the ground. He already had reservations about this case. Of course he didn't believe in omens, but still…

He rubbed his head as he struggled to a sitting position. The courthouse floor was hard. Hopefully his face hadn't bruised. He didn't want to explain that to the judge, or make a bad impression on this mysterious new prosecutor for that matter. He'd meant to call Edgeworth about that, but like a lot of things, it had slipped his mind until it was too late.

"I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

Phoenix glanced up at whoever had run into him, fully prepared to glare and grumble at the inconvenience this guy had caused. He got one look and the words instantly died in his throat.

The man in front of him was mostly unremarkable. He might have been around the same age as Phoenix, maybe a little younger. He had red hair with a wind tousled look and wore a plain gray suit with a dark tie tucked into his jacket. An abandoned briefcase lay next to him, presumably dropped in the collision. He was slightly bent over now, one arm awkwardly reaching in Phoenix's direction, though it was too far to the left and too high up to be of any help. The other hand was occupied with a sort of walking stick, a fact that quickly made sense when combined with the dark glasses obscuring his eyes.

"No! I mean, no, don't worry, I'm fine!"

Phoenix scrambled to his feet. He didn't feel comfortable taking the man's hand for help, but he couldn't just leave it there. Should he say something? 

Before he got the chance, the stranger lowered his hand, and turned in Phoenix's general direction. 

"Are you sure? I hit you pretty hard." He gave an apologetic smile.

"I really am sorry, it's my first time here. I think I got so caught up trying to find my way I wasn't paying attention to anything else."

"

It’s fine, really! Not a big deal!"

There was an awkward pause.

"Ah...do you need help finding anything? I know this place pretty well," Phoenix offered. He had a little time before the trial after all.

"Oh, no, you don't need to, I've caused you enough trouble."

"No it's fine, I'd be happy to help."

"I don't want to impose."

"It's no trouble at all."

There was another pause.

"Well if you really don't mind," the man finally said, "I'm trying to get to the prosecutor's bench."

"Oh thats...wait, what?"

The man extended a hand, though this time for a handshake. He still held it out too far to the left.

"Prosecutor Matt Murdock. It's nice to meet you...?"

Phoenix took a few seconds to respond, temporarily frozen in surprise. This was the new prosecutor? He seemed so...normal. 

"Phoenix Wright."

Phoenix shook Murdock's hand after awkwardly repositioning himself to properly be in front of it.

"Uh...defense attorney Phoenix Wright, actually."

Murdock raised his eyebrows.

"You're who I'm going up against today? That's quite a coincidence."

"Well not many people go to the courthouse. I guess it's not too surprising."

Murdock smiled.

"I guess you have a point."

They made their way to the courtroom. Phoenix picked up the briefcase, and at Murdock's request led him straight to the prosecutor's bench, keeping a hand on his arm to keep him from running into anything. The room was still mostly empty. Phoenix carefully set the briefcase on the bench while Murdock got situated. 

"It was nice meeting you mister Wright. Good luck today."

"Good luck?" Phoenix repeated to himself as he started to walk away.

"Was I not supposed to say that?"

Phoenix jumped. Murdock heard that? He was halfway across the room!

"Nothing like that, it's just unexpected. Like you said, we're going up against each other. If I get too lucky you lose, right? And you probably don't want that."

Murdock seemed thoughtful for a moment. Phoenix got the uncomfortable feeling the man was watching him somehow, even if he knew that wasn't possible.

"Well that would depend on my goal, wouldn't it Mr. Wright?" 

Murdock smiled. Or was it more of a smirk?

"Anyway, I've taken enough of your time. You probably need to see to your client."

Murdock nodded in Phoenix's direction before turning his attention to his briefcase. He pulled out some unusually thick papers and began- well, not looming over them exactly, but something like that. It was a clear dismissal. 

Phoenix walked away bemused. He was really starting to regret not calling Edgeworth.

***

“What’re you lookin’ at?”

This again. Phoenix sighed internally. 

“Nothing. The trial is about to start though. If there’s anything else you can tell me, now is the time.”

“I already told you everything I know! I didn’t do nothin’!”

It took a lot of willpower to not cringe at the poor accent. It was a terrible imitation, something this guy probably picked up from movies instead of any real criminals. Why did he always end up with clients like these? He never should have agreed. If Apollo had been in town he might have dumped - er, given - the case to him. The client was clearly hiding something, but there was only one truth Phoenix really cared about right now.

“Mr. Quent, I’d like to ask you one more time-did you kill anyone?”

There was a moment of surprise in his face, then his entire demeanor changed. 

“I didn’t kill anybody! I swear! I may be a criminal but I’m not a murderer! I was just moving boxes, man.”

_There goes the accent._

Why bother even trying to act tough if you were going to lose it at the drop of a hat? Though in the end, it didn’t really matter. There were no psychelocks anywhere. Whatever else he was hiding, he wasn’t lying about that.

“Will the defendant and his lawyer proceed to the courtroom now?”

Phoenix felt a nervous churning in his stomach. He hadn’t felt this way in...a long time. It may as well have been his first trial. He wasn’t sure what it was that bothered him so much. Was it the limited evidence he had to work with? The fact that he hadn’t gotten any time to investigate on his own after taking the case at the last minute? Was it this new lawyer that somehow seemed completely normal and still a little unnerving? All of the above?

Of course, he knew it was pointless to worry now. All he could do was his job, to the best of his ability. Maybe he would get lucky. Maybe there would be a damning piece of evidence discovered at the last second proving his client’s innocence. Maybe Murdock would turn out to be the worst prosecutor he would ever face. Maybe pigs would fly. Nobody could really know.

He took up his usual position while Quent slouched in the defendant’s chair. Murdock’s hands were still skimming papers in front of him. The spectators were seated now. Phoenix was never really sure why people always showed up to trials, even small ones like this, but it was a staple of the courtroom. It was hard to imagine a trial without the rabble in the background.

The judge walked in last. He took his time settling into his seat, seemingly oblivious to the eyes all focused on him as everyone in the courtroom stood up simultaneously. Once he was settled, he returned those looks, his own eyes sweeping across the courtroom. 

“It seems we have another tragic case on our hands. The murder of Mr. Garth Cotics.”

He swung his gavel down.

“The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Delin Quent. Is the defense ready?”

“The defense is ready, You Honor.” Phoenix called out. The judge turned to Murdock.

“Is the prosecution ready?”

“The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.”

“Hmm.” The judge eyed Murdock. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

“I’ve never practiced in this area before, Your Honor. My name is Matt Murdock.”

“Well, I certainly hope you’re prepared Mr. Murdock. Though, truthfully, this seems like an open and shut case.”

Phoenix groaned internally. It always started like this. It would be nice if the judge could start on his side, for once. 

“Does the prosecution have an opening statement prepared?”

Murdock ran his hands over the papers in front of him one more time, taking a moment to reorganize them. 

“Of course, Your Honor. The victim in this case is a Mr. Garth Cotics. Police were alerted to the sound of gunshots near the docks, and found his body in a loading bay. Cause of death was a single gunshot to the chest, and the murder weapon itself was left at the scene. The time of death was between midnight and two in the morning. Most notably, his body was found surrounded by illegal narcotics, packed and ready to be shipped. 

“Not only was the defendant, a man with a criminal record, apprehended attempting to flee the scene, but his fingerprints were found on the containers holding illegal drugs, placing Mr. Quent at the scene. The evidence leaves little room for doubt who the murderer in this case is.”

It was nothing Phoenix hadn’t seen in the case file; Murdock was surprisingly forthcoming for a prosecutor. But somehow just hearing it out loud still managed to bring a fresh wave of despair. Phoenix did his best not to let it show on his face, at least. It was too early in the trial to give up. The weight of the magatama in his pocket was a nice reminder. At the end of the day, he only really had one thing to remember in the courtroom. 

The judge nodded to himself as Murdock finished his opening statement.

“To be frank, I don’t see how the defendant isn’t guilty in this case. Though it’s unusual, I may be ready to give my verdict now.”

“Hold it!” Phoenix yelled out, hands hitting the desk out of habit. He was vaguely aware of the prosecution reacting in some way, but most of his focus was on the Judge. “You can’t declare a verdict now Your Honor!”

“I can’t? And why not Mr. Wright? Do you have anything to refute the Prosecution’s claims?”

It was too early in the morning for this.

“The Prosecution wants us to believe my client committed a violent act of murder, but he’s forgotten one important thing. What motive did my client have? Murder is perhaps the worst crime of all, not something a person does lightly.”

“Hmm,” the Judge considered for a moment, then shook his head, “Even without a motive, the evidence is very clear.”

“I disagree Your Honor. This evidence was found in a loading bay in the middle of the night. Is there any proof that my client left those prints at the time of the murder? Is there any proof that nobody else could have entered the are or handled the weapon? I didn’t hear the prosecution mention prints on the weapon.”

“...Well, Mr. Murdock?”

Murdock rested one hand on his cane, and reached up with the other to adjust his glasses.

“It’s true we don’t know a motive for the murder. But it’s also true that the defendant has been placed at the scene of the murder, and is a known convicted criminal.”

Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, but Murdock raised a finger, silencing Phoenix without missing a beat.

“Furthermore, at the time of arrest, the defendant was acting strangely. He was tested and found positive for narcotics in his system. In other words,”

_Oh no._

“He was high when arrested. On top of his previous criminal record, it paints a picture of a drug deal gone wrong.”

It was like a punch to the gut. That hadn’t been in the case files! How was he supposed to defend against a surprise attack like that? It was never good when he had to start bluffing this early in a trial.

“Objection! Recreational drug use doesn’t automatically make a person a murderer. Besides, my client has no history of drug use. He’s only been convicted of minor thefts. Why would he use drugs in the first place, let alone out in a loading bay that you have yet to prove he has any connection to!”

Murdock grimaced slightly while Phoenix spoke, one hand absentmindedly reaching towards his ear.

“Mr. Wright, with all due respect, are you always this loud, or only when you’re buying for time? His connection has already been proved with physical evidence. With your arguments I’m sure we could spend the entire day going back and forth, but ultimately, the evidence is not on your client’s side.

“However, if this isn’t enough for you, the prosecution does have a witness prepared.”

Phoenix leaned forward, resting his hands on his desk. This was one thing Murdock had conveniently left out of any shared case files. Even if it wasn’t surprising, a witness he hadn’t spoken to or even seen was rarely good news. 

Murdock set his cane on the floor with a soft click, turning in the direction of the judge’s bench.

“Bailiff? Could you bring out the witness from the waiting room?”

The bailiff, nodded, paused, then gave a quick “Yes, sir” before leaving the courtroom. It didn’t take long for him to return, the witness shuffling behind him.

The only really distinctive thing about this witness were his clothes. Thick and rough and still covered in the stains of labor, it was obvious they were meant for hard work. The fact that he wore layers, a wool beanie, and boots that had left faint marks on the way to the witness stand confirmed that it was some sort of outdoor work. Though despite that, he stood there sniffling like a man with bad allergies. 

_Must not be fun to work outside with allergies like that._

On top of everything he looked extremely tired, as if he had been forced to wake up too early. There was the five o’clock shadow of a man who had forgotten to shave and dark circles under each drooping eye. Still, Murdock wasted no time. 

“If the witness could state his name and occupation?”

“Oh...I'm...I’m uh...what's my name again? Oh, right, I'm Joe Regular. I uh, I work at the docks. Night shift.”

“And you were working the night of the murder?” Murdock prompted.

“Uh...yeah. I think so.”

The judge looked down at the witness in surprise.

“You think so? You don’t seem very sure of that.”

Joe scratched the side of his nose, his face void of any expression that couldn’t be described as “tired.”

“I’m uh...I’m sure.”

_Yeah you sound like it._

Murdock cleared his throat, pulling attention back to him.

“Perhaps we should move on to the testimony?”

The judge nodded in agreement.

“Yes. Mr. Regular, if you could please tell us what you saw that night.”

“Well...like I said, I uh, work at the docks. I’m part of a flow team that moves goods from incoming ships to trucks waiting to go deliver. My shift started at two in the morning. We uh, we gotta get things moving pretty early, you see, so the places the trucks take them can get the cargo first thing in the morning.

“But uh, anyway, not long after I got there I heard a bunch of noise. Sounded like yelling. So I went over there, to see if everything was ok. I saw two guys standing by a bunch of crates ready to be loaded. One of them pulled out a gun, and bang.”

The witness made a half hearted gesture of a gun firing with his fingers. He then took the liberty of pulling out a tissue and very loudly blowing his nose.

“But uh, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I hid and called the cops after that.”

The judge cleared his throat, doing a poor job of hiding his disgust at the witness’s sinus issues.

“Your cross-examination, Mr. Wright.”

It was a simple testimony, straight to the point. Not the kind you wanted as a defense attorney, but still, he’d done more with less. Right?

“Did you see the face of the man wielding the gun clearly?”

“Well it was dark, being night and all, but there are a lot of lights around there. Pretty sure it was that guy.”

He nodded towards the defendant, who responded by sinking into his seat with a sullen expression.

“Let the record show that the witness identified the defendant,” Murdock called out.

_How did you even know?_

Would it be rude to ask that out loud?

“You’re sure you only saw two men, Mr. Regular?” Phoenix pressed. Maybe he’d get lucky.

“Yup. Kind of weird to see only two guys on a team, but I guess there wasn’t that much cargo.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah, usually you got a small team doing something like that.”

“Did anybody on your team see or hear anything?”

“Dunno.”

 _Helpful._ Presumably the police would have grabbed anybody else who saw or heard anything important, right? If not, Phoenix wouldn’t get help from them now. He could only bring in some mystery witness if he got through today.

There was really only one real contradiction he could see.

“Mr. Regular. You said your shift started at two am?”

Mr. Regular sniffed a few times before answering.

“Yeah…?”

“And you claim you saw the murder happen ‘not long’ after your shift started. Is that correct?”

Now the witness was furrowing his brow.

“Yeah, and?”

“It just seems strange, considering that according to the autopsy report, the victim died _between_ midnight and two a.m. If that’s the case, then how did you witness the murder _after_ two?”

He threw as much bravado behind his accusation as he could, making sure to wag his finger towards the witness for dramatic affect. 

“Ugh…” The witness immediately tensed up. Phoenix couldn’t help but smirk a little. It was a good sign when they got tense instead of just surprised. The judge banged his gavel a couple of times to silence the (already pretty quiet) courtroom.

“Mr. Regular, if this is true, then the defense is correct, you couldn’t have witnessed the murder. Do you have an explanation for this?”

Regular took the time to blow his nose again before answering. 

“Of course I can. My shift started at two, but I got to work early that day, about one fifteen. That’s all.”

“Hmm...that would explain it. Still, I’m going to have to ask you testify again, Mr. Regular. And this time make sure it’s accurate.”

Of course the judge would let perjury slide, again. Had he ever actually charged someone with that in any of Phoenix’s cases? He couldn’t remember.

Phoenix glanced at the prosecution before the witness started speaking. He’d barely moved during the entire exchange, standing with his hands resting on his cane, and head tilted towards the witness so he could hear better. Maybe he was just confident in his witness and didn’t feel a need to intervene. 

_We’ll see how that works out for you._

Once again the witness’s voice, punctuated by the now familiar sniffling, filled the room.

“It’s true my shift didn’t start until two, but I had trouble sleeping last night. Figured if I couldn’t sleep I may as well just go in early. So I was there when it happened, and I saw everything clear as day.”

_Or maybe it will work out for you._

There was nothing he could say to discredit that testimony that wasn’t pure conjecture. Maybe the witness was lying, but unless he could prove it, he’d hit a dead end. 

“That certainly explains the discrepancy. Quite frankly, if the defense has no objections, I believe I’m ready to hand down my verdict.”

“Hold it!” Phoenix slammed his hands down. He could have sworn he saw Murdock flinch a little at the sound, but he pushed on. “You can’t give a verdict yet! I have a right to cross examine the witness first!”

“I don’t really see the point, but you are correct. You may begin your cross examination, then.” The judge said with a sigh. Again, Murdock stayed silent. It was starting to become a little unnerving. Then again, did he need to say anything at this point?

Phoenix looked down at his case files. He’d left them spread out across the desk for easy access. The autopsy report, crime scene photos, data on rifling marks and fingerprints, all laid out before him. There had to be something in here he could use! What had the testimony given him? The was no point in trying to argue the time, right? He couldn’t prove if the story the witness gave for that was true or not. So what he saw was all that was left…

“You seem very focused. Did you not have enough time to review the case files before court today, Mr. Wright?”

It was Phoenix’s turn to jump in surprise. Murdock smirked from behind the prosecutor’s bench. Phoenix felt his cheeks getting warm from embarrassment. The man couldn’t see, how did he even know?

“You went very quiet Mr. Wright. That seemed unusual for you.” Murdock clarified, answering the question Phoenix hadn’t asked. Now this was just getting unfair. 

“I had more than enough time, Prosecutor Murdock. In fact, perhaps you’re the one who needed more time?”

Murdock’s smirk froze in place.

“And why is that?”

“I have evidence here that shows your witness didn’t see what he claimed to have seen!”

 _Why did I say that?*_ Phoenix glanced back at the crime scene photos. If there was anything to help him it was probably there. There were two important photos, one of the entire crime scene, and a close view of the body itself. Phoenix could see familiar lights on the edges of the photos, the kind the police brought in when it was too dark to see properly.

Oh.

_Oh._

“Mr. Regular. In your testimony just now, you claimed to have seen the crime ‘clear as day.’ An interesting choice of words, considering the crime happened in the middle of the night.”

“Now hold on,” the witness butted in, “I know where you’re going with this. Yeah it was night, but the docks are covered in lights. You can see them everywhere, brighter than street lights. People work there almost every night after all.”

Phoenix shook his head.

“That may be true normally, but I don’t think it was true that night. If the court would look at the crime scene photo, you’ll notice something interesting. The crime scene is lit up in these photos by smaller lights the police brought in. You can even see the blue badger logo on a couple of them if you look closely. If the scene was so well lit, why would they have brought these at all?”

“Objection!” Murdock called from across the courtroom. It was much quieter than Phoenix was used to. “You can also see the building lights in this photo, and parts of the dock lights, correct? Just because the police brought in extra light to examine the scene doesn’t mean there wasn’t enough at the time of the murder for the witness to see the crime!”

Phoenix supposed it only made sense Murdock knew what was in the photos, but still, someone would have had to tell him. There was no way for him to get a good look for himself.

“Objection!” Phoenix pointed towards the top of the photo. “As Prosecutor Murdock said, there are lights visible in this photo. But if you look closely, you’ll notice the one over the crime scene itself is broken!” Phoenix hit his desk again for emphasis. “Though the light is only barely in the photo, this bulb is clearly broken. How could the witness have seen this crime as clear as day if the main light illuminating the crime wasn’t even working!”

Murdock gripped his cane with both hands.

“And how do you know that bulb was broken at the time of the crime?”

“Are you suggesting it was broken in the ten minutes it took the police to arrive? Maybe I don’t have proof it didn’t break in that time, but unless you have proof it _did_ break in that time frame, Prosecutor, then I’d say your theory doesn’t hold any water.”

“Order, order!” The judge swung his gavel a until both lawyers fell silent. “Witness, I have to ask. Did you or did you not see the crime.”

Regular puffed up his chest. “Of course I saw it!” Almost immediately it deflated a little. “Maybe I didn’t see the guy’s face as clearly as I would have liked…”

“So you didn’t actually see the defendant shoot anyone?”

Regular’s voice got quieter. 

“Maybe not…”

“Well then. Prosecutor Murdock, it seems your decisive witness was not so...decisive.”

Once again Phoenix slapped his desk.

“I agree your honor. The prosecution has no proof that my client actually committed the crime. There is no way to reach a verdict in this situation, so the defense requests the trial be postponed until tomorrow.”

Murdock spoke before the judge had a chance to respond. If it weren’t for those glasses Phoenix would have thought the man was glaring at him.

“Objection! Even if the witness didn’t see his face clearly, the defendant’s prints were still found at the scene.”

“But not on the murder weapon!” Phoenix interjected. “Why would his prints be at the scene but not on the gun itself if he had committed the murder!”

“Even if he didn’t see his face clearly, the witness saw only two people! Are you suggesting there was a third person hiding just out of sight?”

“It could have been the defendant who was out of sight!”

“ _Order._ ”

The judge only swung his gavel once this time, but it was enough. He shook his head once attention focused back on him.

“It seems to me that what we need is more information. The prosecution has a good case, but the defense is making valid points as well. I hope both sides will spend this time finding the truth of this matter. For now, though, court is adjourned.”


	2. Investigation Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phoenix investigates the crime scene. Matt investigates the best way he knows how.

“Mr. Wright.”

Phoenix paused, already halfway down the courthouse steps. Murdock stood at the top, facing straight out despite his height over Phoenix.

“Mr. Murdock?”

“Oh I did catch you.” He gave a small sigh of relief, then started to make his way down. 

“I’m sorry for bothering you, but there was something I wanted to say before you left.”

“Oh?” Phoenix waited for Murdock to reach him, then awkwardly followed him down the stairs, hoving next to the man just in case.

“You still there?” Murdock asked with a small smile.

“Oh, uh, yeah, of course I am! You wanted to say something?”

“Yeah.” The smile dropped from Murdock’s face. “I just wanted to say...I want the truth from this case. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe we’re not exactly on the same side, but, we’re not enemies. I just...wanted to make sure you knew. I’ve heard you’re pretty big on that. The truth, I mean.” There was a joking tone to the last part, but his expression remained serious.

“You heard that? Well, it’s true I suppose. That’s the whole point of lawyers isn’t it? To find the truth?”

“So they say. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, so to speak.”

For a moment Phoenix stayed silent. He spoke cautiously when he had something to say.

“I appreciate that Mr. Murdock. And though I realize it’s not really my place, I wanted to ask...are you doing ok?”

That small smile came back.

“I’m fine Mr. Wright, but I appreciate the concern.”

A part of him had expected what happened next, but he hadn’t expected...well, what happened next. It was a familiar sensation by now, the way the world around him went dark, the sound of chains sliding over each other into place. It was the sensation of his magatama giving him a view into a person’s heart and the psychelocks that held their secrets. But he hadn’t expected five of them to appear.

And he definitely hadn’t expected one of them to be black.

“Mr. Wright?”

Phoenix snapped back to reality. The vision of the psychelocks faded away.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“...No, I didn’t. I think I’ll stop taking up your time now. We both have work to do today after all. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Murdock gave one last nod then walked on, cane clicking against the stairs as he slowly found his way to the bottom. 

Phoenix watched him go for a moment. What in the world was Prosecutor Murdock hiding? Why would that many psychelocks appear because of “I’m fine.”

Murdock was right about one thing, though. He had more pressing issues right now. This is what he got for working a case alone. Apollo and Athena were away working their own case together, Maya and Pearls were training, and Trucy was practicing new tricks. 

Well, there was one person he could talk to. He’d prefer being able to visit the man’s office, but it was hard to know if he’d have time.

He waited until he was in a cab to make the call in order to avoid the worst of the noise on the street. It didn’t take long for to get an answer.

“Miles Edgeworth,” Edgeworth spoke in a brisk tone, like a businessman answering an office phone. He usually answered like this, but that never stopped Phoenix before.

“Is that how you always answer your personal phone?” He teased.

“Is that the only joke you can come up with about it?” was the immediate retort. It would sound rude if Phoenix didn’t know him so well. 

“I’m working on new stuff. Genius takes time, you know.”

“Mhm.” Edgeworth hummed in response, in the tone of someone who didn’t believe a word you were saying but couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort to refute you.

“I did actually call for a reason, though.”

“Oh? And what reason is that.”

“I wanted to ask about a new prosecutor, Matt Murdock.”

“Murdock? Did something happen?” The concern was obvious in his voice.

“No, not really. You know him though?”

“Of course I do. I gave him permission to work a case here. He’s very highly regarded.”

“I went up against him in court today. He wasn’t bad.”

Edgeworth chuckled in response. Phoenix always appreciated that sound, even if it was at his expense. He didn’t hear it enough.

“Don’t sound too happy about it, Wright. He must have made some sort of impression on you if you’re calling me about him, though.”

“Maybe.” Phoenix admitted begrudgingly. “So you’re the reason he’s prosecuting this case, huh?”

“Not exactly. He asked to prosecute it. He has an excellent reputation in New York. I thought he’d be an excellent, if temporary, addition to this office.”

Phoenix said nothing until he realized Edgeworth couldn’t see the shock on his face.

“He _asked_? To prosecute this case?”

“Do you have a problem with him being the prosecutor?”

“N-no! It’s not that, it’s just...you said he’s from New York? Why cross the entire country for _this_ case? Doesn’t that strike you as a little odd?”

Edgeworth barely missed a beat, clearly already followed this thought process himself, “I discussed this with Murdock when he submitted his request to prosecute the case. The circumstances are very similar to many cases he’s been handling in New York, and he believed this case was connected. One might even call him the expert in this situation, Wright.”

Phoenix dragged his hand down his face. He could just see Edgeworth’s smug smirk through the phone, “Connected? Connected how? Does he think the defendant killed someone in New York or something?” Phoenix tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Kind of. 

“No. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the defendant at all, “ Edgeworth paused for a moment, before continuing, “From what I understand, Murdock believes that all of these smaller drug deals and busts are connected through a single source, and from what evidence he showed me when he requested this case… I didn’t see any reason to refuse him.” A soft clink comes through the receiver, and Phoenix glances at the clock. He must be interrupting Edgeworth’s tea time. That put the conversation on very short timer.

“If you say so Edgeworth. There’s just something off about this whole thing. I can’t put my finger on it but…” He trailed off. His plan to throw out a convincing argument to get Edgeworth on his side, shockingly, wasn’t going well.

“Could you just, do me a favor? And let me know if anything weird does turn up? About Murdock or the case. I’d be interested to know more about this evidence he had too.”

“I can’t share that evidence with you while you’re on this case, it’s related to multiple open investigations out of my jurisdiction. However, I...will let you know if I come across anything else of interest.”

Phoenix couldn’t help but smile a little. There was far less snark in that reply than he’d anticipated. 

“Thanks Edgeworth. I really appreciate it.”

“Good luck with your investigation, Wright.”

The phone line clicked, and Phoenix wondered how much new information he’d really found out from the phone call. Murdock was still as mysterious as ever… and he couldn't help but worry about those psychelocks, especially the black one. Those things never had anything good hiding behind them before. Exhaling slightly, Phoenix pushed the thought away for the moment. He’d just have to trust Edgeworth to look into Murdock for him for the moment. He had a crime scene to investigate.

Well, he’d have a crime scene to investigate as soon as he found it. The taxi dropped him off near the edge of the loading docks, which seemed fine until he stepped into the maze of trucks and cargo and storage units. Everything looked the same. How did anyone find their way through this?

“You look lost.”

Though he would never admit it, Phoenix yelped in surprise, spinning towards the source of the voice. 

“Ema? Is that you?”

“Mr. Wright!” She beamed at him. “Long time no see!”

“W-what are you doing here?”

She smirked at him.

“Well there is a crime scene here, and I am a detective. Is it that surprising?”

“Wait, the police are here? Are they investigating the scene again?”

_Does that mean she knows where it is?_

A strange expression crossed her face.

“They aren’t, really. Officially, the police department still stands by their original investigation and arrest. So it’s just me today.”

Well, that was a little depressing. The prosecution must be pretty confident in their case despite the delay of the trial.

“Just you? That’s a little odd.”

“Yeah, well, Prosecutor Murdock asked if I’d be willing to come here. He was going to come as well, I think, but was busy with something else.”

Prosecutor Murdock? Phoenix found himself suddenly very interested in this other business the prosecutor had. Was it something personal, or something connected to this case? Then again, Edgeworth made it sound like Murdock almost had a personal stake in this case…

“Well, I can’t say I’m not happy to see you here Ema. It’s always good to have another pair of eyes when investigating a crime scene.”

Ema smiled, a dangerous spark flashing in her eyes. 

“I was hoping you’d say that. That new Prosecutor said you’d probably be coming here, so I made sure to bring all of my forensic equipment with me.”

“Good to know. So, uh,” Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, “do you know where the crime scene is, exactly?”

As it turned out, the crime scene was just around the corner. Phoenix did his best to ignore Ema’s laughing as he gave the place a once over. Even though they were by the docks, the crime scene itself was a loading bay nowhere near the water. For the most part it looked like the crime scene photo, with a series of docking stations for trucks ready to deliver across the city, or even across the country. The body was gone, obviously, replaced by a white outline. The extra lighting set up by the police was gone as well, not that they needed it in the middle of the day. There was something else, too. Phoenix couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something else had changed. 

“Oh. The boxes are gone.”

“Boxes?” Ema raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you mean the illegal drugs that were confiscated immediately?”

“Uh. Yeah. Those.”

Well now he just felt stupid. Of course those would be gone. He’d hoped that just maybe the crime scene would be relatively unchanged, but at the same time, he didn’t exactly want to examine dangerous drugs. 

“Did they ever find the truck?” Phoenix asked absentmindedly. He wasn’t exactly sure where to start. The area around the body had probably been checked pretty thoroughly already, so maybe he’d star further out and work his way back in?

“Truck? You mean the one the defendant and victim were loading? No, unfortunately. Security around here isn’t great. There are only a few security cameras, and most of them weren’t working the night of the crime.”

_Well that’s convenient._

“But if there were only two people there, who drove the truck?” Phoenix cursed himself for not thinking of that earlier. The witness testified to seeing a truck being loaded, so he must have seen it leave. Or even if he’d hid like he claimed, didn’t he hear it? 

Unlike Phoenix, Ema seemed untroubled by inner turmoil.

“Oh, Quent drove it away, to escape the scene. He admitted as much.”

What was it like to have a cooperative client? One who told the truth from the start, who didn’t hide anything. Was such a thing even possible?

“What? But if he was driving, how did nobody find the truck?”

“He abandoned it before we found him. It didn’t take long to catch him after police arrived on the scene, so it should have been close by. Nobody knows how he managed to hide it and of course he wouldn’t tell us where it is.” Ema glanced at him and shuffled her feet awkwardly. “To be honest Mr. Wright, as happy as I am to help, your client is looking pretty guilty.”

“Nothing’s decided yet, Ema.”

She nodded, but her expression told him it was meant more as a way to placate him than anything. He couldn’t really blame her. Still, a little surge of determination pushed him forward. There had to be something here he could use.

He paced through the scene, looking for anything new, anything out of place. There were a few white stains throughout the scene, like spilled powder that had been ground into the pavement. Most of it was close to where the body had been, so Phoenix decided it wouldn't be a good idea to touch it. He did, however, crouch over it. If this was what he thought it was, maybe there were clues too small to really see in the crime photo. 

There was a faint trail leading away from the main spill, but unfortunately there were no obvious impressions, no clear fingerprints or footprints. That was more than a little disappointing, but still, maybe it would come in handy. He took a few photos as he followed the trail to the edge of the loading bay. It came to a sudden stop when it hit a stack of shipping containers that had clearly been sitting out here for a while. 

“Hey, Ema?” He wanted for her to walk over before continuing. “Is this what I think it is?”

“If by that you mean drugs, then yeah. One of the containers was busted open when the police got here. They cleaned a lot of the mess up after the investigation because of what it was.”

Phoenix took out his phone and pulled up the crime scene photos. 

“Are you allowed to have that on your phone?” Ema asked from over his shoulder. 

“It’s fine,” Phoenix replied. At least, he hoped it was fine. He held his phone up to compare the images of the original scene to what he saw now. Ema was right. Though most of the trail was obscured by boxes because of the angle of the photo, there was a fairly clear pile of white powder by the body. Phoenix had noticed it before, of course, but he hadn't thought much of it. It was a mess made at a crime scene, and so far, hadn’t been helpful in trial. 

But now, this could change things. If Quent had driven away from the scene like the police claimed, why was there a trail leading away from where it would have been sitting? He said as much to Ema, who eyed the remaining boxes with curiosity.

“Guess we should see what’s over there.”

Ema was faster than him, already crouched over and tugging at the side of one of the crates before Phoenix could collect his thoughts. 

“Ema, what are you doing?”

“You wanted to see where the trail ends, right?” She was already panting for her efforts. “The trail ends under these crates, so I’m moving the crate. Are you going to help or not?”

It clearly wasn’t meant to be a question, so Phoenix grabbed another edge and starting pulling without complaint. For a moment or two. 

“Oh God, this is heavy.” 

“Yup, I noticed, just keep pulling!”

It was like trying to move a box made out of pure concrete. Or Thor’s hammer. Phoenix was pretty sure they weren’t making any progress at all, and was about to suggest a break for his burning muscles, when a nearly ear-piercing screech filled the air.

Phoenix dropped his hands from the crate to hold them over his ears. Ema turned around with a smug smile.

“We did it!”

It was true, oddly enough. They had only shifted it a few inches, but it was better than nothing. Did that mean that noise came from the shipping container scraping against the ground? What in the world was in those boxes?

Phoenix stepped around to get a better look. The crates had been stacked haphazardly, leaving an empty space in the middle. It was blocked off on all sides (or was until they opened it up like moving a cave door). There was nothing blocking the top, two large crates up. If there were a hole like that on ground level, it would be a perfect place for something accidentally dropped to go unnoticed.

As it turned out, apparently an artificial hole several feet high functioned the same way. Though he couldn’t quite tell what it was, something lay abandoned between the crates.

It was a tight fit trying to get his arm through the space they had created. Phoenix, hand protected by a handkerchief as he gripped his prize, wondered for a moment if he’d be able to pull his arm out, or if he was just doomed to sit here stuck until he died. With a little help from Ema, though, and a yelp of pain, he managed to free himself.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow.” He rubbed his shoulder with his free hand.

“Mr. Wright. I think that’s blood.”

For a moment Phoenix panicked and looked at his arm, wondering where he got cut, before his brain caught up. The object he’d picked up was, to his surprise, a baton. The edges were lined with some sort of metal, maybe steel, that gave off a silver shine. The rest of it was a bright red. Maybe that was why it took Phoenix an extra moment to see the dark stains splattered across it, almost blending in with the red until they hit the silver. There, on the edges, the blood stood out like a sore thumb. 

“I uh. I don’t suppose you have any evidence bags with you, do you, Ema?”

She had one out before he even finished his sentence. He should have known better than to even ask. He watched her place it in the bag and seal it.

“I should get the blood tested before I check for fingerprints. This could be vital evidence. Do you mind if I go ahead to the precinct?”

“Can you wait just one minute?” He held up a hand to signal her to stay. “I want to get another look at the crates.”

He kept speaking as he leaned back over them.

“I mean how did that get dropped in there? These crates are big, so the stacks are pretty high. What are the chances of something like that getting in there?”

There was nothing obvious on the crates he could see. Nothing on the sides or the tops, but he could only see the tops of the ones sitting on the ground. Phoenix gripped one of the crates on top and cautiously placed his foot on the lower one, testing his weight. 

“Mr. Wright what are you doing?”

He ignored the alarm in her voice, and in one movement, simultaneously pushed and pulled himself up. He grunted with the effort and his already sore arms complained at the exercise. It was more than a little embarrassing how hard he was panting when he finally balanced himself upright. He had a clear view of the top of the stack now at least, and saw, equally clearly, dried splotches of blood and traces of white powder. 

Somebody, running around with a red baton covered in blood, went on _top_ of the crates? What kind of person did that?

“Ema, I could really use your help up here.”

***

Ema took multiple samples of both the powder and blood, as well as quite a few new crime scene photos. Phoenix took his own photos, grateful that someone as understanding as Ema was here to let him. She was nice enough to help him find his way out of the docks before speeding away to get the forensic testing done. She promised to give him the results as soon as she had them.

A productive morning, for sure. It left him with no more obvious leads though, so he decided to head for the detention center. Maybe this time he could have a proper conversation with his client. If he was very, very lucky, that client might even tell him the truth.

The detention center was almost as familiar to him as his own office at this point. He’d sat across from dozens of clients in this exact spot over the last decade, several of which had been far more pleasant than the man currently glaring from behind the glass. Maybe it would feel less uncomfortable if he weren’t here alone. No Maya, Athena, Apollo, or even Trucy to keep him company. Of course he could handle this himself, he was a grown man. Still, everything seemed a little more gloomy on his own.

“Mr. Quent, you told me you didn’t kill anyone, and I believe you, but I can’t help but feel like you’re hiding things from me. We’ve managed to extend the trial another day, but I won’t be able to help you much longer if you don’t tell me the truth.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Phoenix got the impression Quent wanted to sound aloof and a little scary, but if anything, he sounded scared. Everything from the over-gelled hair to the faux leather jacket gave the impression of somebody who tried very hard to be a criminal with no real understanding of what it actually entailed. Maybe he’d hoped to make a name for himself in the underworld. Regardless, it was making things difficult for Phoenix. He found himself gripping his magatama while looking Quent directly in the eyes.

“It means just what I said. I need the truth. Is there anything about what happened that night that you’re hiding from me?”

“I said I already told you everything, and you said you believed me! I was just there to load a truck. I heard a gunshot and ran, I didn’t see anything, and I didn’t do it! You’re my attorney, isn’t that enough?” Quent was certainly the kind of person to talk with body language, waving his hands around and leaning forward as he tried to convince Phoenix. It didn’t mean much when the familiar chains came crashing down, holding three psychelocks.

“You heard a gunshot and ran without seeing a thing?”

“Yeah, well, even you said it in court, didn’t you? There wasn’t much light.”

Phoenix found himself turning the magatama over in his hand when he spoke.

“You say you ran, but according to the police, you told them yourself that you stole the truck full of illegal drugs.”

Quent flinched a little. He looked away with a pout on his face.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t really thinking straight.”

“Because you were high.” Phoenix immediately held up a hand, hoping to keep the peace for a few more moments as Quent rounded on him, nostrils flaring. “I’m not trying to judge you! You’re right, I’m your attorney, and I’m here to help. But I have to understand what happened!” Phoenix pulled out his phone and scrolled through his photos until he found the one he was looking forward. He held it up to the glass where Quent could see.

“You were loading a truck, but there’s no truck in the crime scene photo. The police searched the area and were unable to find it. They couldn’t even find evidence of it.” Something shifted in the back of Phoenix’s mind. No evidence at all? He spoke slowly this time, thinking through each word before he said them. “No evidence of a large cargo truck that managed to go completely missing in the span of minutes. Not to mention the fact that all the evidence so far suggests you and the victim were the only people at the scene. I’m beginning to wonder if there was ever a truck there at all.”

It was ridiculous, of course, Phoenix knew that. But it was hard to not even consider it. Not only had the truck magically disappeared, but now that he thought about it, the scene itself didn’t make sense with a truck present. The point of a loading bay was for the trucks to back up to the door so that cargo could go straight from storage onto a truck, or vice-versa. If that were the case, why was the body found outside of the storage area? Why were the drugs themselves sitting outside of storage?

Then there was Quent himself. His entire demeanor changed as a look of pure shock crossed his face. For a moment Phoenix could hear the slight rattling of chains, but it ended suddenly when one of the psychelocks burst and faded away.

“How-how did you know?”

_I was right?_

“So you admit it? There was no truck there that night?”

Quent paused, then finally relented with a nod.

“Yeah. Whoever was supposed to bring it was running late, according to Cotics.”

“I don’t understand. Why hide that?”

“Dunno,” He ran a hand over his stiff hair, “Didn’t want to look more suspicious I guess. Doesn’t seem to be much of a point to hide anything from you, I guess. I’ll talk.”

Phoenix hated how dejected Quent looked, but this would be good in the long run.

“Just tell me what happened. All of it.”

Quent sighed.

“I do small jobs for the same guys sometimes. It’s almost always just moving things around, delivering stuff. I got a call a couple days before that night asking me to help load up a truck. They didn’t tell me what it was. They never do, and I don’t ask. Probably why I get these jobs.

“Anyway, I show up, middle of the night, and it’s just me and Cotics. We waited a while, but when the truck didn’t come, Cotics started moving boxes out of the loading bay. I told him that was stupid. He kept going on about how it would make it go faster when the truck did show up, but that’s idiotic! No idea what he was thinking. So we argue for a minute, then…”

Quent cleared his throat before continuing. Even though they had faded with the conversation, Phoenix remembered the two pyschelocks he hadn’t broken yet.

“Then, uh, someone else showed up,” Quent avoided Phoenix’s eyes while he spoke, “but I don’t know who they were, I didn’t see their face. They jumped in swinging a stick around. Knocked me to the ground then grabbed Cotics and started yelling about the drugs. Before Cotics had a chance to say anything, I heard a gunshot. I guess when it hit Cotics he ran into one of the boxes. It bust open and that stuff was flying everywhere.”

He finally looked at Phoenix again, face open and earnest.

“I’m no angel Mr. Wright but I’ve never been into drugs, not like that, but I must have inhaled some of it when the box broke. The stuff in there, if it’s what I think it was, it’s supposed to intense. After I inhaled it everything got fuzzy and fucking weird. I remember trying to run, but not much else.”

“So wait, you saw a third person? And they attacked you? Could they have been the one who shot the victim.”

“I-I don’t know. I got knocked down a few yards away and it was dark.”

“Quent, you should have told me this before! This is extremely important information!”

“Would you have believed me?” Quent snarled in the first show of real aggression Phoenix had seen from him. “Would anyone have believed me? It sounds like a fucking cop out!” 

Phoenix leveled his eyes at his client. 

“I’m your attorney Mr. Quent. I’ve believed in you from the start. My job is to make sure by the end of this trial, everyone else believes in you too. I will always fight to find the truth, you can count on that!”

“Mr. Wright,” Quent said, anger seeping out of his tone, “That’s the corniest shit I’ve ever heard.”

Phoenix wanted to get upset, but seeing the way Delin Quent was tearing up and trying to hide the relief on his face made it hard to muster up the anger. Instead, he smiled, projecting as much confidence as he could.

“You know, the worst part is, Mr. Quent, I really believe it.”

***

Phoenix bounced on his heels, forgoing any attempts at looking professional. A few policemen gave him odd looks, but most just ignored him. He hadn’t been to the police department in a while, but Ema had asked him to come. It was getting late, but supposedly she’d soon have the results from the forensic analysis of the baton and the blood. Now that he knew a third person had been present, and that this baton likely belonged to them, he couldn’t quite contain his excitement. This could be the decisive evidence he was looking for. It made him especially out of place in the otherwise quiet and calm precinct. 

Well, at least until he heard a door slam. It wasn’t just the sound of somebody closing a heavy door a little too hard. This was the kind of thunderous noise you only got when somebody threw a door shut as hard they could to make a point. Everyone in the room looked up almost simultaneously. 

A man stormed down a hallway and into the main room. Aside from the glare on his face, he seemed like an average man, a little pudgy, somewhat unkempt light brown hair, wearing a suit that was probably a few years old. Phoenix found himself more focused on the one following behind, cane striking the floor with a quick rhythm as he tried to keep up.

“Foggy-”

“I really don’t want to hear more excuses, Matt. You want to have an actual conversation, well, you know how to reach me.”

The man called Foggy seemed to notice other people for the first time as he neared the door. He spared one last glance for the precinct before walking out. His head bowed down a little as he left, perhaps from embarrassment. Matt came to a stop next to Phoenix, though he didn’t turn his head, keeping it, and his frown, trained on the door.

Phoenix could feel the eyes of everyone on Matt. The atmosphere was heavy and awkward, not that Murdock paid any mind to it.

“Sorry about that.” He muttered, acknowledging Phoenix’s presence for the first time.

“How did you know I was here?” Phoenix blurted out. He barely had time to register his horror before Murdock chuckled.

“I didn’t know it was you specifically. I just knew someone was there. Good to see you again though, Mr. Wright. I hope you’re having a good night.”

“Uh, yeah, you too.”

Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he was probably never going to be rid of.

“So, that guy…”

“Friend of mine, Foggy Nelson. He’s not too happy with me right now.” Murdock gave a small, sad smile. Phoenix wondered what they were arguing about.

“I didn’t know you had friends,” He said absentmindedly. It didn’t take long to realize just how badly he’d managed to stick his foot in his mouth, again, “Here! I meant, I didn’t know you had friends here! Since, you know, you aren’t from here, so I heard…”

_Stop talking Phoenix, you’ll just make it worse._

Murdock’s smile only got wider.

“He’s visiting. Which reminds me, I wanted to ask, what brings you to this precinct today?”

His friend visiting at the same time Murdock was here for work? Had he come just to get into arguments with Murdock? Phoenix would have to think about that more later. For now he was stuck trying to come up with a response. Murdock, however pleasant he could be, was the prosecution and Phoenix still didn’t know what to think of him. He didn’t need to add to his troubles by showing his hand too early and losing any advantage it might give him. Then again, since Ema had brought the baton here, what were the chances it would stay secret?

“Nothing, really. Just meeting up with an old friend.”

That was true enough, right? Murdock didn’t give much of a reaction, just a distracted nod. Did...did he buy it?

“It was nice seeing you again Mr. Wright. Unfortunately I have some other business to attend to.” He offered his hand to Phoenix, though like always, he held it too far to the left. “Good luck tomorrow.”

“It was nice seeing you too, Prosecutor Murdock.” Phoenix accepted the handshake with reluctance. He wanted to like Murdock, he really did. If anyone asked what problems he had with the guy, Phoenix wasn’t sure he could name anything. It was just a feeling in the pit of his stomach that wouldn’t go away. That and the five psychelocks.

At the very least he wasn’t about to wish the man good luck.

It was another ten minutes after Murdock left before Ema showed up. She was bouncing in excitement in a strangely familiar fashion. 

“So Mr. Wright, I have good and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“The bad news I guess.”

“None of the blood tested matched anyone involved in this case so far.”

Phoenix’s excitement crashed to the ground.

“But, that blood had to be recent, right?”

“Well that’s the good news. The blood I tested didn’t match anyone involved in the case!”

Phoenix just stared. Why say you had good and bad news if they were both going to be the same thing!

“Oh come on Mr. Wright! You’re right, the blood was fairly recent. There’s no way to know exactly when it got on the crime scene, but that’s pretty good evidence there was someone else there, right?”

That was true. It just wasn’t the decisive evidence Phoenix had hoped for. 

“Oh, yeah,” Ema continued, “One more thing. Though I didn’t get a match for any of the blood, I identified the blood of two different people from the samples. One came from the blood on the weapon, the other from the blood on the crates.”

Most likely the blood on the crates came from this mysterious third person Quent had mentioned. Quent had said something about the third person wielding a stick, which most likely was this baton. The thing was, though, while the autopsy had shown some mild bruising on the victim’s body, there hadn’t been any wounds that bled, besides the bullet hole. Not to mention the fact that they had DNA samples for both Quent and the victim. The forensics tests only confirmed that this person had fought yet *another* person, either before the incident at the docks, or during. Quent hadn’t mentioned a fourth person, but at the same time, the drugs created a pretty unreliable gap in his memory. 

“Thanks Ema.” He accepted papers from her detailing her results. “If I find anybody to compare those blood samples too, would you be able to do that?”

“Of course Mr. Wright! Though there’s not much time left in the day, so if you want that done you’d better get me some samples quick.”

Phoenix nodded, already knowing he wouldn’t have anything for her by the end of the day. But what he had was enough to cast doubt on the entire situation. If he played his cards right, he could at least get the trial pushed to its third, and final, day. 

Ema handed him back the baton, still wrapped up and tagged in a plastic evidence bag, before he left. He thanked her and said his goodbyes before making his way back to his office. He knew he really should go home to his actual apartment with Trucy, but paranoia made him want to stash the evidence anywhere but his home. At the very least he made sure to send Trucy a text to let her know he’d be home pretty late. 

The office was eerily quiet. Phoenix took the opportunity to finally check his voicemail. He was glad to get a lighthearted message from Apollo confirming that him and Athena won their case. Hopefully that meant they’d be back tomorrow. It would make the office lively again. Phoenix wasn’t used to being on his own too often. He found he didn’t really care for it. 

He put the baton in a drawer under a small stack of unimportant papers at his desk. He should look back over the case and prepare for tomorrow, he knew, but something nagged at him. He switched on his desktop and watched it come to life with various whirring and beeping noises. It sounded like it was working so hard. Athena was probably right, he needed a new one. Or at least he would when he had the money for it.

He pulled up the internet and typed the name Murdock had given him into the search bar.

_Foggy Nelson._

Or more accurately, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. There were a lot of articles involving the lawyer, and pictures to help Phoenix confirm it was the correct guy. As far as Phoenix could tell, he was a prosecutor as well, a pretty good one. He gave a lot of statements about finding the truth and making the city safer. Maybe he really believed them. Phoenix wanted to hope he did.

Other than that, though, nothing popped out at him. He tried not to think about how creepy this was as he dug a little deeper. It wasn’t as if he was searching for dirt or anything. He just wanted a better picture. What kind of person flew across the country to argue with a friend over a case they had nothing to do with?

He very pointedly avoided any thoughts of Edgeworth as he continued his search.

It took a while before he found anything, but when he did, he found himself gaping at the screen. 

Murdock and Nelson, a now defunct law agency. Not only had they once been partners, they were defense attorneys! Phoenix closed his eyes for a few seconds, but when he opened them nothing changed. This was...he didn’t know what this was. It wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily. It wasn’t like all prosecutors were evil, he knew that better than anyone. But what would make two partners in law both leave their firm to go into prosecution? There was a story there, but the more Phoenix thought about it, the more he doubted it was any of his business. 

With a sigh, he closed his tabs. It was interesting, sure, but not something that would help him. He decided to finally look over the case files again, even taking the time to make his own notes. This case was all over the place. He supposed it wasn’t the most unusual case he’d ever had, but still, it was becoming its own special brand of crazy. 

He was too absorbed in his work to notice the sun disappearing under the horizon. His only reaction was to switch on a lamp as the natural light gave way to weak moonlight. 

A noise broke his concentration. It was soft, a slight rattle, a few clicks. If there had been more noise in the office, or even more traffic outside, he might not have heard it at all.

Could it have been Apollo or Athena? It was reasonable to think they might get back a little early. But would they come to the office this late?

Phoenix wanted to call out, but something told him not to. Instead, he held himself as still as he could while easing out of his chair. He wondered if he was the only one who could hear his heartbeat. 

There was nothing around him that made a good impromptu weapon. He was surrounded by books, papers, pens, his desk lamp, and various props for Trucy’s magic shows.

He was too slow anyway. The door swung open, light spilling into the dim office. A man, clothed head to toe in dark shades of blue, stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him.

There was a moment where neither moved. The intruder noticed Phoenix, seeming as surprised as Phoenix felt, despite the lack of any visible facial features. It could have been like a thousand awkward moments strangers shared together every day.

Except this didn’t end so nicely. The intruder moved so quickly, whipping out a pistol before Phoenix could even think to move.

“ _Not a word,_ ” the stranger growled. On instinct Phoenix raised his hands. He couldn’t look away from the barrel of the weapon aimed straight for his head. It even had a silencer. He couldn’t move at all. What would he even do if he could? Would nobody find his body until morning? Who would be the first? Apollo? Athena? God forbid Trucy walk in. Still, it wasn’t like he could outrun a bullet. He just had to think, there had to be something, just one thing he could do to get back home to Trucy. They could take whatever else they wanted, that was all that mattered. 

For one morbid moment he wondered if Edgeworth would be the one to prosecute this case. 

A crash interrupted his thoughts. It was so loud and jarring, for a moment Phoenix was sure it was a gunshot. Any second now he expected the pain to come along with blood blooming across his favorite suit. Instead, he felt a prick on one of his hands.

Shattered glass flew everywhere. Phoenix closed his eyes automatically against the edged pieces flying across the room. 

He heard a heavy thud and a couple of grunts. When he risked opening his eyes, it was just in time to jump back as the intruder slammed into his desk. His own back hit the bookshelf behind him, hard enough to throw a few books to the ground. 

A hand, wrapped in red leather, reached out to grab the intruder by his shirt. They pulled him up, then slammed him back down, eliciting a pained yelp. Phoenix winced at the noise. He felt so useless, but what could he do when fucking _Daredevil_ showed up in his office?

He’d heard of the vigilante, of course. There was always a new report on his doings, new debates on the morality of vigilantes. There were a lot of pictures of him, running, fighting, jumping, even parkouring his way across buildings. Granted, most of them were extremely blurry, but still, Phoenix had an idea who he was, and what he looked like.

It was a whole different thing to have him here, standing in front of him, red leather outfit giving off a hellish glow from the desk lamp. His shadow stretched across the office, making his small horns look properly terrifying and demon like against the wall. 

“ _Who sent you?_ ”

Daredevil growled at the intruder as his fist made contact with the man’s face. The man grunted and gasped with the pain. He made a few desperate attempts to grapple with Daredevil, but the vigilante was too fast, slamming the man back onto the desk at an uncomfortable angle every time.

“ _Who? I want a name!_ ”

His voice was deep and gravely, almost unnaturally so. It was so...stereotypical. Was he trying to disguise his voice?

Phoenix could see blood on the intruder now. Daredevil had already ripped his mask off, but at this rate Phoenix wouldn’t need to identify him for the police. They’d just have to find the man whose face was more bruises than skin.

The intruder mumbled something Phoenix didn’t quite understand, and Daredevil hit him again. Phoenix couldn’t help but wince. Daredevil might have saved his life, but this, this was…

“Stop!” Phoenix surged forward, hands reaching out, though he wasn’t really sure what he was trying to do. “He’s had enough!”

Daredevil’s fist froze in the air. He spoke without letting go of the intruder or looking up.

“He’s a murderer who was going to kill you in cold blood.”

There it was again, the gravel voice. It had to be fake. Phoenix had never met anyone who talked with a voice like that in his entire life.

“That doesn’t mean you can kill him!”

“He won’t die.”

Daredevil grabbed the intruder with both hands and yanked him up, grunting with the effort. He nodded at the ground where the pistol had skidding across the floor. Phoenix hadn’t even noticed. 

“You might want to call the police.”

With that, Daredevil dragged the intruder to the window. The man was trying to fight back, but it was clear he was too weak to now. Daredevil barely seemed to notice his efforts. Phoenix watched in horror as Daredevil hoisted the man up to the window, and dropped him over the edge. He soon followed, jumping out himself and disappearing into the night.

Phoenix didn’t think he’d ever forget those screams.

He fumbled in his pocket. He’d completely forgotten about his phone before, but now, as the adrenaline died down, he fought his shaking hands to dial 911.

“Police? Hello, there’s...there’s been a break in.”


	3. Trial Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was going to go great

Trucy grabbed his tie and tugged it towards her.

“Ack! Trucy, honey-”

“It’s not straight.” 

Phoenix was pretty sure it was, but he let her adjust it, even if he did have to awkwardly bend down for her to reach.

She had been fussing over him all morning. He couldn’t really blame her. It was partially his fault, after all. After calling the police he’d sent a text to Trucy to give her a quick rundown of what was going on (though he left out quite a few details, like the blood, and the horns). She usually was a heavy enough sleeper that texts didn’t wake her up. He figured she’d see it in the morning, giving him a chance to pull himself back together so he could give her a calm explanation.

Instead, he found his phone ringing before the police had even arrived. It took several minutes to calm her down enough to hang up. The police were there for the tail end of the conversation, clearly impatient to get his statement. 

Of course, when he finally did start answering their questions, he got a lot of strange looks and “Sir have you been drinking tonight” comments. It was infuriating.

It felt like an eternity before he was allowed to leave, though the police were still crawling around his office investigating. He’d had the presence of mind to slip the bagged baton under his jacket when none of them were looking, at least. He couldn’t afford to lose it as evidence for some future trial.

Another group of officers lingered outside his building, circling a mattress inexplicably sitting on the sidewalk. One of the officers explained how it had likely been dragged over from the alley next to his office building to cushion the fall of the man they found unconscious and badly beaten laying on it. That man had long since been rushed to the hospital, but he’d left behind several blood stains to remember him by.

Phoenix couldn’t get home fast enough. Of course Trucy was still up waiting for him, and it took several more minutes to get her to reluctantly trudge back to bed. She had woken up earlier than him regardless, asking him an endless line of questions.

As much as he appreciated her concern, he hated that he’d made her worry so much. 

“Don’t you have to be at school soon?” He asked when she finally let go of his tie. 

“Nothing can compare to the education you get from life experience, daddy.”

“Smart aleck.” 

She smiled, a welcome relief from the tight concern she’d shown all morning. He rested a hand on her shoulder.

“I have to get to court now, but I promise, I’m fine. I’ll see you after the trial, ok?”

“Ok,” she muttered, “but we’re getting eldoon noodles when you win!”

He wished he shared her confidence.

“Sure. See you later, honey.”

She threw her arms around him for one last hug before letting him leave. It left Phoenix with a heavy heart as he made his way to the courthouse. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he refused to let this case cause Trucy anymore trouble. 

Which was why he waited until he left the house to pull up articles on Daredevil. There wasn’t much in there he didn’t already know. Daredevil wasn’t exactly a public guy. There were articles on whether or not he was a villain or a hero, stories on criminals he’d left beaten and tied up on the steps of various police precincts, and many, many blurry photos. Whoever this guy was, he clearly had a thing for red.

There was only one picture he found that wasn’t a blurry mess. It had been taken by a journalist who claimed daredevil saved their life. It wasn’t perfect. Daredevil had clearly been on the move when it was taken, giving it a slightly blurry and out of focus look, but it was leagues ahead of the rest. There was a lot of detail you couldn’t see in most photos. His suit looked more like armor in this shot, and the decorative “DD” on his chest, as well as those creepy horns, were clearly visible. If the journalist had gotten any time to adjust his camera properly it probably would have been a great shot.

When he finally arrived at the courthouse, Quent, in true form, was sulking on the couch in the defendant’s lobby when Phoenix arrived. 

“How are you feeling today?” Phoenix asked. Quent shrugged, offering no words. 

_What did I do?_

Phoenix wasn’t sure what else to say, so he let them lapse into an uncomfortable silence. He could try giving a pep talk, but Quent didn’t seem like the most receptive person for something like that. Luckily for Phoenix, he didn’t have to endure the silence for very long. 

The door to the defendant’s lobby burst open, making the poor bailiff standing guard by it jump. Apollo rushed in, panting like he had just run a marathon.

“Mr. Wright!” He huffed, “I’m not late, am I?”

“Late? I didn’t even know you were back yet! Is everything ok?” Was somebody hurt? Did something happen to Athena? Nobody was getting accused of murder again, were they? Now was not a good time for that! Phoenix spared a glance for Quent, but the man seemed to be actively trying to tune them out.

“I should be asking you that Mr. Wright! Trucy called me and Athena and told us what happened. I can’t believe two guys broke into the office! What did they think would be in there?”

“Ah.” Phoenix was really starting to regret telling her so soon. Even leaving out that one of the intruders was Daredevil wasn’t enough it seemed. Phoenix offered his best reassuring smile.

“Yeah it was a crazy night, but everything is fine, I promise. I’m not sure what they were after.” It was a true enough statement. He had some half baked theories floating around, but nothing concrete. Hopefully it would be enough to satisfy Apollo. “Wait, where’s Athena?”

Apollo crossed his arms. His voice was finally starting to even out as he caught his breath.

“She went to drop things off at the office. She’ll be here soon I’m sure.” Apollo tapped his fingers against him arm. “Do you think what happened last night had anything to do with this case?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve got no proof they’re related, but…”

“...But you have a gut feeling they are, don’t you?”

Phoenix shrugged. All he had were theories and a lot of questions.

“I’ll have to worry about it later. I’ve got a trial to focus on first.”

Apollo smiled, full of confidence.

“You mean we’ve got a trial.”

“Are you sure? You just got back.” Phoenix was exhausted and worried and stressed and wanted nothing more than to have somebody he trusted at his side, but he didn’t want to push. Then again, did Apollo ever change his mind on something like this?

“Of course I’m sure! I’ll be right there next to you,” His smile slid down, turning into something more sheepish, “I don’t suppose you have the case files on you so I can get a quick look?”

This was going to go great.

***

The court fell silent with the last bang of the gavel. For a moment the judge sat with his eyes closed, hands resting in front of him in a solemn gesture. Or maybe he was just tired. Phoenix couldn’t always tell.

“At the end of yesterday’s trial, I tasked both the defense and the prosecution with finding more conclusive evidence for this case. Can I assume that at least one of you has something new to present? Besides an overly confident smile?”

Was the judge looking at him when he said that? 

“I think he’s looking at you Mr. Wright.” Apollo muttered.

“The prosecution has come prepared, Your Honor,” Murdock called out. Phoenix could have sworn the man was smirking. 

“The defense is ready as well, Your Honor.”

The judge nodded.

“So, Prosecutor Murdock, have you brought us any more decisive evidence today?”

“In a sense. The Prosecution would like to establish the motive that proves the defendant intended to kill the victim, ultimately carrying out the act in the dead of night.”

“Well that certainly sounds decisive. What is this motive?” 

“I have a witness I'd like to call, Your Honor, in order to establish the motive.”

“I see.” The judge seemed thoughtful for a moment before finally nodding his head. “Alright, call in this witness.”

“A witness to establish motive,” Apollo whispered as the bailiff disappeared, “So they didn't see the actual murder?”

“That's what it sounds like. I guess Murdock is giving up on his ‘drug deal gone wrong’ theory.”

Phoenix wanted to be pleased. A witness instead of a video or document gave him a better chance to poke holes, in theory. So why did the waiting make him so anxious?

This witness was a world away from the last one. A tall woman strutted into the courtroom, two inch heels echoing as she found her way to the witness stand. She strode forward with purpose, platinum blonde hair flowing behind her. She wore a pantsuit, technically, even if her pants were so tight they may as well have been stockings. She left her jacket open, exposing a tight shirt cut so low Phoenix wondered if she even wore a bra.

_Wildly inappropriate, Phoenix, you have to cross examine her! Think about something else. What's the opposite of her?_

An image of Edgeworth in his magenta suit, glasses low on his face as he peered past his cravat to read filled Phoenix’s mind. 

He could feel himself getting warm.

_That's worse! How is that worse?_

“Would you please state your name and profession for the court?”

Did Murdock have any other expression besides smirking? Did he walk around his house like that? 

The woman smiled, shifting to the side with hands on her hips. It wasn't a kind or sweet smile by any stretch of the imagination. It was sharp, cutting across the room like glass.

“Penn King, CEO and owner of King Shipping.”

“I'm sure everyone here is curious about why I've asked you here today, Ms. King, so could you please explain to the court your connection to the defendant and victim?”

“Of course,” she said with a wink, “That's why I'm here. Both Quent and Cotics have worked for me in the past. They were never permanent employees-I’m not sure either of them ever held down a job-but they've been called in a lot as seasonal employees, or even just a few extra hands when we need it. My company ships a lot of goods both internationally and domestically, and sometimes we need help loading and unloading.”

“Wait Ms. King,” the judge interrupted, eyebrows raised in surprise, “you said you're the CEO, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I'm surprised you would know employees who, according to you, aren't even really employees.”

“Ha! How rude,” King chuckled, not sounding offended in the least, “I’ll have you know I'm very hands on when it comes to my work. Nothing goes on at my company that I don't know about.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” The judge cleared his throat, “So did the defendant and victim ever work together?”

King snorted.

“All the time. Those two took jobs together if they could. They were basically attached at the hip.”

_What?!_

Murmuring erupted across the courtroom. Even the judge was shocked, leaving his gavel untouched as the revelation sunk in.

“Wait, Ms. King, are you implying that the defendant and victim were not just coworkers, but friends?”

“Something like that.” King responded with a disinterested tone. 

“Mr. Wright, I have a bad feeling about this.” Apollo didn’t look at Phoenix as he spoke. All of his attention was focused on the witness. Good.

Phoenix threw Apollo a quick smile before smacking his hand down in front of him. 

“Hold it! Ms. King, if you were their employer, how would you know anything about their relationship? They could have been nothing more than acquaintances!”

King looked at him as if she only just noticed he was there.

“Who are you?” She asked, sweet as a heart attack. Phoenix stood a little straighter. 

“Phoenix Wright.”

“And you’re the defense attorney for Quent?”

“That’s right.”

There it was again, the kind of sharp smile that would look better on a wolf than a woman.

“Well you aren’t a very good one, are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you been listening at all?” She crossed her arms. “I said I’m very hands on with my work. That means I’m there, on the floor of warehouses, in loading bays, at the edge of the docks, wherever my people are, all the time. I talk to them and they talk to me. Quent and Cotics told me they were friends, talked about how they looked for work together. It’s not like it was a secret, they told everyone. Sometimes they even told embarrassing stories about each other, stuff like that. Do you need me to recite a few to prove it?”

“No thank you…”

Phoenix saw Murdock shake his head from across the courtroom.

“I understand your desire to poke holes in whatever testimony a witness I bring in has, but I don’t actually intend to claim your client’s motive was friendship, Mr. Wright.”

Phoenix forced his expression to stay neutral. Murdock had a point, but Phoenix wasn’t about to admit he was looking for contradictions out of habit and without a specific thought in mind.

“Then what are you claiming, Prosecutor? I have yet to see an actual motive presented!” The judge asked with a raised eyebrow.

“My apologies Your Honor, I simply wanted to establish the connection between this witness and the defendant and victim first,” Murdock said without a trace of apology in his tone, “But if you would allow, I would like Ms. King to now testify about the motive for this murder.”

“Yes I very much would like to hear this myself. If you would, Ms. King.”

She tossed her hair back with a dramatic flourish before resting a hand on her hip.

“Well, it all happened about two months ago. I was on the floor of one of my warehouses, overseeing the work and helping out where it was needed. A couple of guys were gone on sick leave and vacation, so Quent and Cotics were filling in. Then, out of nowhere, I hear a commotion on the other side of the floor. Of course I ran straight over, but I still missed whatever started it. Either way, I walked up to Quent and Cotics in a shouting match, both of them yelling things like ‘I’ll kill you’ at each other. They ignored me when I told them to shut it, but when they started trading blows I got some of the other guys involved. It took four of my guys to pull them apart.”

She huffed at the memory. “I blacklisted both of them after that. I don’t care about my people’s personal problems, but you don’t bring it into my buildings, and you don’t fight on my time. Neither of them have done a single job for me since then.”

Murdock lifted his cane and tapped it on the floor, drawing everyone's attention.

“As you can see, your honor, the defendant clearly had a grudge against the victim, going so far as to threaten to kill him. Ms. King made a record of the altercation when she fired the two men, and the prosecution has several statements from other witnesses of the altercation. All of them agree that the defendant, Mr. Delin Quent, started the altercation with the victim Mr. Cotics.”

Shock reverberated around the room. Phoenix could hear it in the murmuring of the crowd around them and see it in the face of the judge.

“This is...shocking, to say the least,” The judge finally said when the courtroom quieted down, “Threatening the victim, in front of witnesses no less, is very serious. You’ve found a solid motive indeed, Prosecutor Murdock.”

Murdock nodded in acknowledgement. It was very subdued compared to the eccentric prosecutors Phoenix was used to. He didn’t bow or anything.

Phoenix supposed he was shocked too, like everyone else in the courtroom. Admittedly, though, he was starting to get used to learning about his client through court instead of from the client himself. And more importantly, he had an eye on Apollo, who rubbed his bracelet while he stared at the witness.

“What is it Apollo,” Phoenix whispered. Apollo responded in kind. It was almost strange to hear such a loud person speak so quietly. 

“I think she’s lying, Boss. I’m not sure what she’s lying about exactly, buy my bracelet started reacting towards the end of her testimony.”

The end? Phoenix mentally went back through the words. She spoke about how she knew them, how they worked for her, how they were friends, how they fought, then…

“Your Honor! I would like to begin the cross examination now!”

“What? Oh, yes, of course. Go on, Mr. Wright.”

“What is it, Boss?” Apollo whispered, a little frantically. Phoenix leaned over to whisper back.

“We’re gonna find out. Keep a close eye on her”

Apollo slumped at that, but Phoenix ignored him. He’d done this before, right? Besides, he had his last resort tucked into his jacket. It wasn’t decisive, maybe, but it was comforting to know the option was there.

“Ms. King, you said this altercation happened two months ago, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“You also said that the defendant and victim had been friends for years.”

“You’re point?” She had gone back to studying her nails in a show of disinterest. 

“My point, Ms. King, is that you have no way of knowing what happened in those two months. If they were old friends, they could have easily made up in that time. You yourself admitted you don’t know what they were fighting about!”

“Did you not hear the part where Quent threatened to kill his friend?” Her mouth twisted into a sneer, “Or did you just conveniently forget?”

Phoenix shook his head.

“I didn’t forget anything, Ms. King. Two months is more than enough time for old friends to work out their problems. They were even working the same job the night of the murder. That was something they did often in the past, correct? Take jobs together?”

King opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Murdock.

“That’s nothing more than conjecture, Mr. Wright. You haven’t pointed out an actual contradiction.”

“But you can’t deny the hole in your theory, Prosecutor Murdock! If the two men reconciled in those two months, the basis for a motive disappears!”

The judge and Murdock both spoke at once. Or at least, they tried to. They were quickly cut off by a laugh, shrill and sharp just like her earlier smiles.

“Is that all?” 

Oh no.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ve got to be joking. You call yourself a lawyer?”

Apollo tensed next to him, but Phoenix only gave a weary smile. 

“I do, in fact. Is there a point to this, Ms. King?”

“You say I can't prove Quent held a grudge. I say I can.”

“You never told me anything like that, Ms. King,” Murdock cut in, his voice strained. 

“You didn't ask,” King replied with a shrug, “But I did meet with Quent, not even a week ago.”

Phoenix was aware of the noise around him, he heard the judge banging his gavel. His eyes stayed on the prosecutor, though. Murdock was tense, his expression tight, hands gripping the cane so hard his knuckles were turning white.

_I want the truth, nothing more, nothing less._

“Apollo, is she lying?” Phoenix asked while the judge brought order back to the room.

“Not right now, but…”

“Yeah.” Phoenix raised his voice. “Your Honor, I request the witness give a full testimony on this matter!”

The judge blinked in surprise. 

“I agree, but I hadn't expected you to, Mr. Wright! Witness,” he shifted his gaze to King, “Please testify on this matter, and this time, don't leave out anything relevant to this case.

“Yeah, yeah.” she flipped her hair back again, a completely unnecessary action as far as Phoenix could tell. “Quent came to me almost a week ago, begging for work. He was having trouble finding some on his own, apparently. I told him I'd let him work for me if he publicly apologized to Cotics. He refused, vehemently. Said he never wanted to see Cotics again. So I sent him on his way. Who knows, maybe that’s why he turned to crime?”

The judge shook his head. 

“I see. This is-"

“A big fat lie? Couldn't agree more, your honor.”

Apollo stood tall with a confidant smile stretched across his face.

_I'm counting on you, Apollo.”_

“Mr. Justice! What is the meaning of this?”

“I'm sorry for interrupting Your Honor, but it's not very becoming to lie on the witness stand,” Apollo said, directing the last part at King. She glared back.

“Who the hell is this kid?”

“Apollo Justice, defense attorney.” Apollo answered. “I couldn't help but notice something during your testimony. You said, and I quote, ‘I sent him on his way.’”

“And?”

“Well, Ms. King, you were lying.”

“Excuse me?” she leaned forward, glaring like she was trying to set Apollo on fire with her anger.

“When you said that, your eye twitched. It may seem like a small thing, but I realized there was only one other point in this trial where your eye twitched. Earlier, when you claimed Quent hasn't gotten any jobs for you since the fight, you were lying, weren't you Ms. King?” 

Apollo pointed an accusing finger at her to punctuate his words. Phoenix couldn't help but beam with pride.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Prosecutor, put a stop to this, would you?”

There was a moment of silence. Murdock’s expression had gone thoughtful. If Phoenix stayed silent and let him talk, he’d tear everything apart. Apollo had no evidence. They needed to break the witness. What did it all point to?

“Ms. King!” he slammed his hand on the table before pulling it up to point at the witness in a dramatic fashion. “You've lied multiple times about giving the defendant a job after the fight. The only reason you'd do that is if you yourself had something to hide. Like maybe the kind of jobs you gave Quent.”

“How dare you? Everything about my business is completely legal! I didn't come here to be treated like a criminal, I came to help put one away!”

She practically snarled as she spoke. One glance from her at Quent had him shrinking back like a scared turtle hoping to hide in its shell.

“Besides,” King continued, calming back down with each word, “Prosecutor Murdock already checked my company *very* thoroughly, isn't that right?”

Murdock’s face had gone carefully neutral. 

“Its true there were no obvious connections between King Shipping and any criminal elements.” 

He spoke carefully as well, a neutral tone at a slow pace. No cockiness, no smirk. 

And Phoenix didn't miss the “obvious” in his statement. By King’s expression, neither did she. 

“Anyway, like I said, my company is completely above board, and my testimony above reproach.”

_Crap. I’ve got no evidence to refute her._

“It’s true, Mr. Wright. You have no evidence that Ms. King is anything but an upstanding citizen.”

Murdock had picked his cane up, turning it over between his hands as he spoke.

“But, if it would satisfy you, I'm sure Ms. King would be more than willing to submit her company to a more thorough search. I have no doubt you'll find no discrepancies in her finances, no matter how hard you look.”

“...What?” King’s jaw dropped. “I thought you were on my side?”

Murdock raised an eyebrow. That same infuriating smirk had returned, though Phoenix wasn't so bothered by it now. 

“You have nothing to hide Ms. King. What could be the harm?”

“What's the harm? Are you an idiot? What kind of prosecutor are you?”

She pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache. 

“This is so stupid, this whole plan. I didn't even want to give them that stupid job at the docks! I…” she trailed off. Her eyes went wide.

Phoenix had never heard such a deafening silence in his life. All eyes fell on King. She was the only one to move, her hands slowly dropping to hang uselessly at her side. Loose strands of hair fell around her face, though she made no effort to push them back. 

“Well now. I just can’t catch a break, can I?”

Murdock chuckled. It was an almost unnatural sound in the awkward silence, but Murdock took no notice. 

“I’ll ensure a thorough investigation of King Shipping starts immediately. In the meantime, could the bailiff please take Ms. King into custody? Unless there’s anything else she wants to say?”

King gave no response, instead staring at the ground as if she could will it into swallowing her hole.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Murdock sighed. “My apologies, Your Honor, for wasting the court’s time.”

The judge’s jaw, which had been hanging open, snapped shut. His eyes followed the witness being lead out while he spoke.

“Y-yes. Truth be told, I’m not sure I completely understand what just happened. Did the witness you brought in just implicate herself?”

“Yes, Your Honor. It seems King Shipping may not be as clean as Ms. King claimed, making her entire testimony unreliable. Unfortunately, this puts us where we were before today’s trial began.”

“That does seem to be the case. Therefore, I-”

“ _Hold it!_ ”

Phoenix reacted automatically. He couldn’t let them regress, not now. 

“Mr. Wright, what are you doing?” Apollo asked, not bothering to whisper this time. 

“The prosecution isn’t the only one to find new information for today’s trial!” Phoenix leaned forward, dropping his hands on the table for support. 

“The defense would like to present new evidence!”

Now was his chance. Phoenix pulled out his ace (or the closest he had to one) and held it up for everyone to see. The metal tip of the baton glinted in the florescent lights, even through the plastic bag. 

“What in the world is that, Mr. Wright?” The judge leaned forward and squinted as he tried to get a better look.

“I’d like to know as well.” Murdock didn’t look tense as he spoke, but there was an edge to his voice. 

“Oh, right, sorry,” Phoenix blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “It’s a baton found at the scene of the crime, with blood on it.”

“Blood?” The judge exclaimed.

Phoenix nodded, though he kept his eyes on Murdock. His reaction was more than normal tension. It was as if he’d seen a ghost, his face going white and his hands gripping his cane as if he wanted to snap it.

“As I said, this baton was found at the crime scene by Detective Skye.”

It wasn’t really a lie, right? Ema had been there. Phoenix wasn’t about to let anyone doubt his evidence, at least.

“It had fallen between several large shipping crates at the scene, which was likely why the police missed it in the original investigation. Not only that, but there were tracks of drugs and blood leading up to the baton, suggesting that whoever was holding it was there at the time of the crime, and wounded in the process. The drugs found were the same kind that Quent and Cotics were planning to load onto a truck. Both the blood found on the baton and the blood tracks we found were tested. They didn’t match either the victim or the defendant. The combination of the drugs and blood are proof that this baton was dropped during the crime, placing a third person at the scene, and reasonable chance that this third person was the true murderer!”

Phoenix started to dramatically point his finger before realizing he had nobody to point it at, so he tried to smack the table for emphasis instead. The awkward movement threw him off balance and it was only Apollo’s surprisingly fast reflexes that kept him on his feet. Luckily, his surprise evidence kept everybody from paying much attention to his clumsiness. 

“Mr. Wright, what is this? Are you telling me you had that evidence this whole time without presenting it?” The judge frowned at Phoenix.

“This evidence, while found by a detective, was found after the official police investigation. Therefore it’s unregistered evidence, so I haven’t been able to present it as relevant until now.”

“Do not try to lecture me on evidence law, Mr. Wright. You have a point, but I have yet to see how this piece of evidence has become relevant. Is it related to Ms. King or a motive in any way?”

“No, Your Honor.” It was hard to keep his focus on the judge. There was something...off about Murdock. He was too still, more a statue than a man.

“The relevance has more to do with yesterday’s trial. Prosecutor Murdock claims that since Ms. King’s testimony is no longer reliable, we’re back to where we were before. If you recall, at the end of yesterday’s trial, the prosecution was unable to prove that the killer was my client, or that my client and the victim were the only two people present the night of the murder. This baton, however, is irrefutable proof that a third person was present!”

“...Irrefutable?” 

Murdock. His expression had gone completely unreadable, but instead of the previous neutral expression he held, now he had a face of stone. 

“You’re here claiming a baton is irrefutable in a case where murder was committed with a gun. That is no fanciful claim, but solid fact proved by an autopsy. What else do you have? Who owned the baton? You say the blood belongs to neither the defendant nor victim, so who does it belong to? Are there any fingerprints, any solid evidence to show that baton is more than a last ditch effort by the defense? You say that baton belongs to the killer, so just who is this convenient, mysterious killer of yours?”

He was so _cold_. He may as well have been a different person with such an empty tone. What the hell just happened?

“Yes, well…” Phoenix cleared his throat. He had absolutely no idea, really. There were no other players in the case, no obvious culprit to point his finger at. There was King, he supposed, but besides a slip of the tongue, he had no evidence she was involved, and he _*definitely_ didn’t have any evidence that she had been there. If he accused her it wouldn’t go anywhere. Besides, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to wield a baton. The victim died of a gunshot wound with no other major injuries. How could he tie in this baton? 

The DNA tests of the blood stains was another issue. They suggested there wasn’t just a third person, but a fourth. None of it added up.

But it _had_ to add up, somehow. If his client was innocent, there had to be something else going on, someone else who was there. Someone who would get violent in close combat, someone who would carry a blunt weapon like a baton around. And not just any baton, but a bright, very noticeable red one. 

...Red?

“Mr. Wright, what’s wrong?” Apollo asked with alarm. Phoenix couldn’t bring himself to answer. He just stared down at ground. Even for him, this was...but he saw it himself, didn’t he? In a sense, at least. It was ridiculous, _beyond_ ridiculous, but it was still possible.

He took a deep breath and stood up straight.

“The third person present at the crime scene, the owner of this baton, is the vigilante known as Daredevil!”

It wasn’t comforting when Apollo looked at him like he’d lost it. Murdock opened his mouth. Then he closed it. The judge just looked confused. Even the crowd seemed unsure how to react.

_Well, in for a penny, in for a pound._

“I have here photographs of the crime scene, where the baton was found, taken by me and Detective Skye. If you look here-”

He glanced back up at Murdock.

“Uh, I mean-”

Murdock held out a hand to stop Phoenix. 

“It’s alright, Mr. Wright. This is very important, so I have someone to assist me.”

He tried to smirk but it came out more like a grimace. For one crazy moment, Phoenix had thought they were on the same side. He thought Murdock truly did just want the truth, not a win. Nobody could ever match him in court like Edgeworth did, but he’d thought maybe he’d found another prosecutor who understood what it was to be a prosecutor in the same way Edgeworth did. He thought they could work together.

Now? He wasn’t sure. The tone he’d taken when Phoenix first presented the baton...it was as if Phoenix had attacked him on a personal level.

But that didn’t make any sense.

“Who is he talking about?” Apollo asked with a raised eyebrow. Phoenix had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he barely noticed the silence following Murdock’s statement. 

There was a small commotion among the crowd.

“Me! It’s, it’s me he’s talking about.”

Someone had stood up and was now awkwardly shuffling past everyone who was still seated. When he finally popped out into the central aisle he straightened up and smoothed down the suit he wore. It took Phoenix a second for his mind to catch up.

“Foggy Nelson,” He finally answered. Nelson glanced at him as he made his way to the prosecutor’s bench but quickly turned his attention to the judge.

“I’m sorry for the interruption, Your Honor. I’m Foggy Nelson, a prosecutor in New York. I’ve worked with Prosecutor Murdock before.”

“I see...I think. I must admit it’s rather odd to see more than one person behind the prosecutor’s bench, but considering the circumstances...please, carry on.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Murdock said. He nodded towards Phoenix. “Please continue. I’m very eager to hear your explanation.”

There was something disconcerting about the way Murdock spoke. Phoenix cleared his throat and tried to focus on his arguments. 

“Right. Well, as I was saying, if you look at these photos, you can clearly see a stain left on the ground from the drugs. It turns into a trail leading away from the crime scene and towards another stack of shipping containers.”

Phoenix flipped through the different photos as he spoke. Nelson and Murdock had their heads together the entire time, though Nelson was the only one speaking. Describing the photos, most likely.

“The trail ended at the edge of the containers, and the baton was found in the middle of the stack. However, Detective Skye and I had to move the containers to get to the baton. There was clearly no room for anybody to have run between them.”

Finally, he reached the pictures of the blood stains.

“The Detective and I couldn’t find any further trace of the trail...until we checked on top of the stack of shipping containers. Not only did we find more traces of drugs, but we found blood stains as well!”

The judge rubbed his temple.

“Mr. Wright, I’m afraid I don’t understand. Why on earth was there blood up there? And who did it belong to? And who is this Daredevil fellow?”

“Uh, allow me to explain. Daredevil is a well known masked vigilante who usually works in New York City. While there aren’t many details known about him, he regularly uses violence and is adept at climbing and using his surroundings to escape the police. No normal person would even think to climb something like that, especially if they were escaping a crime scene. However it would probably be second nature to someone like Daredevil. Most likely he dropped his weapon while escaping the scene.

“Furthermore, Daredevil’s signature suit is almost the exact same shade of red used on this baton.”

“A real vigilante in this city? It’s hard to believe.” The judge remarked, though he still looked a little confused.

“It is hard to believe,” Murdock said, a more natural smirk on his face again, “especially considering Daredevil only works in New York City. You even said so yourself, Mr. Wright. Why on earth would he be here on the opposite side of the country? You have no evidence that baton even belongs to him besides color.”

“Objection! I had solid evidence that this baton belongs to Daredevil!”

“You do?” Apollo muttered. Phoenix ignored him. It wasn’t as if he had fingerprints, but he just had to show Daredevil in possession of the baton, right? Even just a picture would do. He’d looked at a dozen just this morning, right?

The last one he’d looked at, the clearest image he’d found...had there been something on his leg?

It was far more difficult to present images on his phone rather than photographic evidence he’d prepared beforehand, but this was important, so the court would just have to wait. 

Finally he pulled up the article and zoomed in on the photo. The crowd broke out into whispers around him. Even with the slight blur, it was clear enough that Phoenix didn’t need to point out the obvious. Still, he wasn’t about to miss this chance.

“There! Right here, in a photo taken by a professional journalist, two batons are clearly visible on Daredevil’s legs! They aren’t only the same red color as shown in this picture, but they share the same metal tip as well. A unique set of weapons that I doubt anyone else owns!”

Nelson started whispering again, looking far more frustrated than Murdock. Murdock just shook his head, still holding on to his smirk. Apparently he’d recovered from whatever had him so worked up earlier.

“That’s an exciting theory, Mr. Wright, but hardly decisive. You have no way to prove if that’s truly the baton owned by Daredevil or simply a replica, nor do you have any proof that Daredevil is even in this city on the other side of the country from where he normally operates. Not to mention you have yet to explain how the baton is relevant to this case. The only injury the victim had was a gunshot wound, and you yourself said the blood matched neither the victim or the defendant. As interesting as this is to talk about, I don’t see what it has to do with this case.”

“You’re right that I can’t explain who this mysterious blood belongs to, or why the victim was shot when Daredevil was wielding a baton. But I know for a fact that Daredevil is in this city right now! I saw him myself!”

“R-really? You really saw Daredevil, Mr. Wright?” The judge’s eyes had gone wide. 

“Yes, last night. A police report was filed over the incident. You can check if you like, Prosecutor Murdock.”

Murdock didn’t answer. Nelson was whispering to him again, though this time, Phoenix saw Murdock whisper back. 

“Mr. Wright,” The judge continued, “I’m used to you coming forward with crazy theories, but this is something else. Moreover, your evidence in support of this theory seems tenuous at best. Still, I can’t deny that this is a strange situation.”

The judge sighed.

“I don’t often do this, but unless the prosecution or the defense has another witness or more evidence to present, I don’t believe I can hand down my verdict today. The decisive witness turned out to possibly be involved in the crime, and further evidence suggests that some masked vigilante may play a role as well. I had hoped today’s trial would clear up the events of this crime, but I find myself with more questions than answers. More than any other trial I’ve presided over, this one has followed no rhyme or reason, and I find the truth more muddled than ever.

“I’m going to postpone the trial for one more day. I hope the prosecution uses this time to investigate Ms. King’s possible involvement, and I hope both the prosecution and defense does their best to find out whether or not this vigilante has anything to do with this case at all.

“Mr. Wright, though I’m postponing this trial for another day, I need you to understand that unless you come up with truly decisive evidence proving your client’s innocence, I will have no choice but to hand down a guilty verdict. You’ve given us theories and doubts, but the majority of the proof still lies in the prosecution’s favor. You will not get another chance.”

“I understand, Your Honor.”

His heart pounded in his chest. He hadn’t expected it to end so suddenly. He hadn’t really proven anything, just bluffed to plant doubt and confusion. It felt more like a delayed execution than a victory. 

“Court is adjourned.”


	4. Investigation Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edgeworth drinks tea. Phoenix talks to Prosecutor Murdock. Nelson forgets he's not wearing a watch.

“What just happened?” Apollo asked nobody in particular. 

Phoenix shrugged. “It was better than a guilty verdict. We still have a chance.”

Quent butted in between them, practically fuming.

“I can't believe her! I can't believe King just threw me under the bus like that! What the hell?” 

“Mr. Quent,” Phoenix asked as he held a hand out in a placating gesture, “was Ms. King the one who gave you the job at the docks?”

Quent deflated a little. 

“Yeah, it was her. I wasn't trying to lie to you or anything, I swear! I didn't think she had anything to do with what happened, you know? I still can't believe she testified against me. Me and Cotics were fighting, that’s true, but I'd never hurt him! He was-he was my best friend.”

Quent had become practically mournful as he finished speaking. Phoenix glanced at Apollo, who nodded. Quent wasn't lying, then. Apollo gave their client a thoughtful look.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that. She didn't have anything to gain from you going to jail, right? So why go out of her way to testify?”

“Maybe Murdock subpoenaed her. Or maybe she was more involved than you thought,” Phoenix said, directing the last part at Quent. 

The door burst open before anybody could respond. Athena rushed in past the guard (who’s face had gone pale. Guy couldn't catch a break today).

“Daredevil? You saw _Daredevil_?” 

Phoenix leaned back as she pushed into his space, eyes lit with curiosity.

“Uh, well,”

“Trucy didn't tell us that! Did that really happen? Is Daredevil actually here?”

“Uh…”

Quent nodded vigorously.

“Yeah I can't believe you saw him too. I kind of thought I was hallucinating.”

“Mr. Quent,” Phoenix said sharply, doing his best to ignore the practically vibrating Athena next to him, “you never said that's who you saw. You said you never got a good look!”

“Well...He was wearing a mask!” Quent looked at the floor, going a little red. “I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you anyway.”

Phoenix would have felt bad if he weren’t so annoyed. Quent’s face was a picture of embarrassment. 

“Well trust me, I definitely believe you. The only issue now is getting the judge to believe it.” Phoenix wasn't sure that was even possible, but it seemed best to keep that to himself. 

“I think you should talk to Prosecutor Murdock about that,” Athena said, all her energy dissipating as she spoke. She held her arms close to her body, practically cradling herself in the way she always did when she was upset. 

Phoenix exchanged a surprised look with Apollo.

“What do you mean?” Apollo asked.

“His heart...I don't know how to explain it really, but it was like his heart was tearing itself apart.”

Phoenix had not been expecting _that_.

“When you brought out the baton,” she continued, becoming increasingly agitated once again with each word, “it was like a storm of emotions. Talking about Daredevil was the same. I could hear it in his voice. Pain, anger, sadness. If I'd pulled the matrix out it would have been overloaded for sure.”

Murdock knew. This whole damn time Phoenix had wondered if he knew something about the baton, but he’d dismissed it almost immediately. It seemed like nothing more than paranoia, but if he had reacted that strongly to just the _mention_ of Daredevil…

This...maybe it wasn't proof, but Phoenix trusted Athena’s hearing. Murdock was lying, maybe even hiding evidence. He was playing the nice prosecutor and making a mockery of the court system behind the scenes, making a mockery of _Phoenix_. Prosecutor “I only want the truth” Murdock his _ass_.

“I need to talk to Murdock.”

Phoenix didn't need to see the change in Athena’s expression to hear the anger in his voice. He'd dealt with his share of lying, conniving prosecutors in the past, but it wasn't often they went out of their way to convince him of their sincerity. It wasn't often they lied straight to his face outside of a courtroom. 

Even Edgeworth had been fooled. He had praised Murdock so highly. Phoenix would have to call him sometime today and let him know who he’d really hired. 

“Mr. Wright…” Athena sounded so uncertain. 

_Get it together, Phoenix._ He wasn’t exactly hiding his emotions at the moment, but Athena was always so sensitive to that sort of thing. 

He forced a smile. “Apollo, Athena, could you two do me a favor?”

They both straitened up, all their focus turned on him. Phoenix would never stop being grateful for these two. 

“Can you see what you can find out about King and King Shipping? I doubt the prosecution will be very forthcoming with anything they find.”

“You got it, Mr. Wright,” Apollo said. Athena just frowned. 

“Are you going to talk to Murdock on your own?”

Phoenix nodded. “Yeah. I need to see what he knows. I'll meet you at the office later,” he said, cutting off any arguments before they could start. 

They left soon after, though with clear reluctance on Athena’s part. Phoenix stayed with Quent until the bailiff took him away, promising his client that he would find something that could help them. Maybe if a miracle occurred, he wouldn't be proven a liar. 

It was only after he left the defendants lobby that he realized that not only was Murdock likely long gone, but he had no way of contacting him.

Of course, Edgeworth probably did. Hopefully getting a call like this wouldn’t be an issue. 

Phoenix called him on his way out. Or he tried to at least. Once he heard the voicemail for the third time, Phoenix conceded Edgeworth was busy. If that were true, the last thing he'd want would be Phoenix showing up to his office unannounced.

Well, Edgeworth was the one who didn't answer his phone. He couldn't really blame Phoenix, right?

Armed with his flimsy logic, he strode out of the courthouse and right into Mr. Nelson. 

Luckily both men managed to stay on their feet. They both also started to apologize, stumbling over each other's words as each one tried to talk without interrupting the other.

“Mr. Nelson, I wanted to thank you by the way, for helping out in court today. I wasn't properly prepared, so I appreciate it,” Phoenix said with sincerity. He always wanted to play fair, even if his opponents didn't.

Nelson waved his hand dismissively.

“Don't worry about it. I've worked with Murdock a lot before, I'm used to it.”

“Is prosecutor Murdock still here, by any chance?” Phoenix asked with all the subtlety he could manage, like a truck hitting a brick wall.

“No, sorry, he left a few minutes ago. I think he was in a hurry. I should probably be on my way too.” Nelson glanced at his wrist, then pulled his phone out when he realized he wasn't wearing a watch. If that wasn't a hint, Phoenix didn't know what was. Maybe Phoenix was being paranoid. Maybe Nelson really was in a hurry, or just not a social person. Or maybe Nelson wanted to avoid talking to Phoenix specifically.

“Of course, I understand. It's a shame, though, I was hoping to talk to him about Daredevil.”

Almost instantly, three psychelocks came crashing down. 

Nelson raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, that uh, that was an interesting trial. I don't think a conversation like that would be very productive, if you can get a hold of him. Sometimes I think he pretends he can't hear too, just to avoid talking to people.” 

He gave a little chuckle at the end, trying to pass the whole thing off as a joke. Phoenix didn't buy it. “won't be a productive conversation" wasn't the same thing as “doesn't know anything.” still, he made sure to smile.

“I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Nelson. I hope you have a good day.”

Phoenix was starting to think psychelocks would show up if he asked Murdock or Nelson what they had for lunch. Hopefully talking to Edgeworth would be more useful. Edgeworth should know how to get in contact with Murdock if nothing else.

It was strange how, even now, walking into the prosecutor's office felt a little like walking into enemy territory. Of course his relationship with most of the prosecutors was a bit more tenuous than his relationship with Edgeworth, which certainly didn't help. He’d long since learned the quickest route to Edgeworth’s office (one that also managed to avoid walking by offices of several specific prosecutors, such as Payne), so it was a relatively painless walk at least. Besides a couple of curious looks, nobody bothered him. Edgeworth’s secretary, a woman whose name he could never quite remember, waved him through. Considering how strict she used to be any time he tried to visit Edgeworth in his office, Phoenix suspected that either she had stopped caring about him, or Edgeworth had talked with her about it. Phoenix wasn’t sure which situation he preferred. 

Despite the secretary’s permission, Phoenix stopped to knock and wait for Edgeworth to call him in. For a man whose biggest vices included tea and watching reruns of an old childrens cartoon, Edgeworth was strangely protective of his privacy, even when it came to his closest friends. Of course Phoenix would always respect that part of him, even if he didn’t always understand it.

“Come in.”

Edgeworth’s office hadn’t changed much over the years. His desk, simple and clean, sat in the center of the room, putting his back to the one large window in the room. The right side was lined with a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, while the left had a sofa pushed up against it. The place was sparsely decorated. He had a chess table set up to one side, an old jacket framed on one wall, and more shelves behind his desk that held, among other things, a Steel Samurai figure. Besides a few magenta accents around the room (such as the drapes and sofa), there wasn’t much of a personal touch in the office. It was perfectly tidy, as always. The polar opposite of Phoenix’s office, really.

“Wright? I wasn’t expecting you.” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow in surprise. He stood behind his desk with a thick folder in his hands, several loose papers held on top. Of course there was also a delicate teacup decorated with a floral pattern set to the side of his desk. 

“It’s not my fault you don’t answer your phone.”

Phoenix took the opportunity to relax on his surprisingly comfortable sofa while Edgeworth scrolled through his phone. His lips pursed when he found what he was looking for.

“My apologies, Wright. I was caught up in a meeting.” He paused for a second. “What do you need to discuss so urgently that you felt the need to drop by my office?”

“I wanted to discuss Murdock, actually. I managed to put off a verdict for one more day, but there’s a lot I still don’t know.”

A soft chuckle greeted him in response as Edgeworth sat down at his desk, “That always does seem to be the case with you, Wright.”

Phoenix wasn’t sure whether or not he should be blushing or angry. He decided to respond with a small smile.

“Yeah, well. This case got a little...odd.” He shifted so he was leaning forward, his smile slipping away. “I know you think very highly of Murdock, but after today, I’m starting to think he’s hiding something. Something about this case.”

“I know it may seem frustrating for you, but the prosecution isn’t necessarily obligated to share all information they find with you before a trial.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I think he’s involved, somehow.”

Edgeworth took a moment to rearrange his papers, placing them back inside the folder he’d been holding before he set the whole thing to the side. 

“I know outrageous claims have become your modus operandi, Wright, but this-”

“I know but-”

“Do you?” There was a slight sharpness to Edgeworth’s voice. “You’re accusing him of criminal activity, Wright. That’s a very serious allegation. What in the world made you think this?”

“Do you know what happened during the trial, today?”

“Besides what you’ve told me? I know that Murdock is investigating the witness he brought in this morning, though I don’t know any details. If that’s all you’re basing it on…”

“You still think that little of me, Edgeworth?” Phoenix said with as light a tone as he could muster. “It has nothing to do with that witness, actually. It's about Daredevil.”

Edgeworth stared. Phoenix had expected an immediate rebuttal, perhaps even scoffing at how ridiculous this all was, with a few cracks about Phoenix’s court tactics sprinkled on top. 

Instead, Edgeworth responded with, “Daredevil? You mean the vigilante from Hell’s Kitchen?”

Phoenix was surprised at the specificity. He hadn't know Hell’s Kitchen even existed until he looked up Daredevil. 

“I know it sounds crazy, but there's a reason he came up in trial. And you should have seen how Murdock reacted. I don't have any evidence, but I know there's something going on there.”

Edgeworth sighed. Once again Phoenix had expected more, a look of exasperation or something. Again, he got nothing of the sort.

“I need you to start from the beginning, Wright. How on earth did Daredevil get involved in this case?”

Even if Edgeworth was just humoring him, Phoenix was relieved. They may not always agree, but there wasn't a person he trusted more in the world than the man in front of him.

So, he started from the beginning. He gave Edgeworth a run down of the case so far, told him about the evidence he and Ema had found. He described the events of the break in, though he avoided giving too many details, shuddering a little at the memory. Edgeworth’s expression darkened considerably at that part. 

Finally he reached today's trial, going through each twist and turn, taking a moment to complain about lying clients while ignoring Edgeworth’s now somewhat impatient expression. But when he talked about Murdock’s reaction, Edgeworth turned thoughtful.

“You don't have any actual evidence he knows anything,” Edgeworth said carefully. 

“I know. I know magatama’s and Athena’s hearing aren't actual evidence, but you have to admit it's suspicious! Hell, Edgeworth, you've used the magatama yourself, you've seen psychelocks!”

“That doesn't make it evidence. With no admissions or testimony, you don't have any proof.”

“Which is why I wanted to talk to Murdock. But I don't have any way of contacting him.”

Phoenix could practically see it click together in Edgeworth’s head.

“You thought that I would,” Edgeworth said. He didn't look or sound annoyed, though, so Phoenix pressed his luck.

“Yes. The longer this case goes on, the less sense it makes. I think Murdock may have some answers.”

Edgeworth leaned back in his chair.

“Well, you may be correct.”

If Phoenix hadn’t already been looking at Edgeworth he would have done a double take. 

“I may? I mean...what do you mean?”

“Murdock has an amazing reputation as both a defense attorney and more recently, a prosecutor. He’s very well respected and when he asked to prosecute this case I had no doubt about his skill or character. There are no skeletons in his closet, so to speak.”

Phoenix waited patiently. Surely Edgeworth was going somewhere with this, right?

“The only odd thing is...well, I can’t even call it a rumor. Apparently in some circles it’s common knowledge. Evidently, Matt Murdock is a known acquaintance of Daredevil. Perhaps even a friend.”

A friend? Murdock was _friends_ with Daredevil? How did that even happen? More importantly, what did that mean for this case? Was Murdock hiding things about the case or had he been caught off guard like everyone else?

Several things fell into place if he thought about it from that angle. Instead of a man nervous about his involvement being exposed, he was just a person finding out his friend was in trouble. His agitation when Daredevil was brought up, his insistence that Daredevil couldn't have even been there...it all added up.

Phoenix let himself fall back onto the sofa. He ran a hand over his face and groaned in frustration.

“Why can't I ever have a straightforward case?” He whined. The corner of Edgeworth’s mouth twitched, which Phoenix knew was a sign the man was holding back his amusement.

“Don't laugh! This whole case is ridiculous!”

“Which makes it perfect for you.” 

Phoenix glared, though there was no real heat behind the look. He groaned again. 

“I guess I still need to talk to Murdock. Whatever's going on it looks like he's my best lead.”

Edgeworth frowned. 

“I'm not supposed to just give out private information of the prosecutors working under me.”

“But…” Phoenix prompted. He looked his friend in the eye and waited. Edgeworth's expression shifted from a frown to annoyance to resignation surprisingly quickly. 

“I can give you a number. Though I hope you realize that doesn't guarantee a conversation.”

“I know,” Phoenix replied while Edgeworth pulled the number up and let Phoenix copy it down, “But I have to try. I'm not letting someone go to jail for a murder they didn't commit.”

“I know,” was all Edgeworth said, his voice soft. For a wild moment it even sounded fond. Suddenly Phoenix found it unusually difficult to meet Edgeworth’s eyes. 

He forced himself to look back up.

“Thank you Edgeworth. This means a lot.”

Had Edgeworth leaned forward? Had _Phoenix_ leaned forward? When did that happen? 

Edgeworth broke eye contact first, becoming very interested in something on his computer monitor.

“I hope it proves useful to you Wright. Now I hate to be rude, but I do have actually scheduled meetings that start soon.”

Phoenix practically jumped up.

“Yeah of course, I'll get out of your way. Thanks again, really.”

It wasn't exactly a great way to end the conversation. It had been rushed, and even after he closed the office door behind him and started walking out he could feel the heavy atmosphere he’d left behind. The air itself felt weighed down by the things left unsaid.

Phoenix shook his head once he was outside. There were other things to focus on. He had a phone call to make, after all.

***

Murdock didn't answer, not even the third time Phoenix dialed him. Maybe it wasn't surprising, but it sure as hell was frustrating. Even knowing the whole thing was a shot in the dark he’d laid all his hopes on it working out.

Well maybe not _all_ of his hopes, but it was still the best lead he had. He could keep trying to call Murdock of course, and he would, but there was no guarantee Phoenix would be able to get in touch with him before the trial tomorrow. He should have gone to Murdock right after court had been dismissed, before the man had a chance to leave. He should have asked Nelson where Murdock was or where he could find him. He needed information on Daredevil if he wanted any hope of pushing his theory in court, and right now, Murdock was the only source of that kind of information.

So now what? Athena and Apollo were already working on King and whatever her connection was. Phoenix could join them, he supposed, but he trusted them to do a good job with the investigation. He’d already combed over the crime scene himself, so no reason to go back there. Besides, he didn’t like the idea of getting lost at the docks and having to call someone to come get him. Phoenix liked to think he wasn’t too proud to ask for help but that might be a little too embarrassing even for him. If any of the kids found out he’d never live it down. Maybe he could just head back to the office.

...Oh.

Phoenix mentally cursed himself. Somehow, he’d been so caught up thinking about Daredevil, he’d forgotten about, well, Daredevil. The whole thing barely felt real, but just maybe the man had left something behind. What else could Phoenix do anyway?

The police were gone by now, of course. There were no police cars, no crime scene tape marking the area off limits. Thankfully the bloody mattress had been carted off as well. 

His office was a complete mess. Books, papers, Trucy’s props, everything had been haphazardly thrown across the floor from last night's altercation. Some of it, like the books he himself had knocked onto the floor, he could explain. The rest he could pretty much guess how it happened based on what he remembered. He kept away from the window where the floor was still covered in shattered glass. Idly he wondered if they found any evidence on the gun.

The worst part, though, was the blood. It stained his desk where Daredevil had beat a man half to death before throwing him out the window. There wasn't much, thank goodness, especially since Phoenix was going to have to clean it up. Cleaning the bathroom was one thing, but he could never ask any of the others to clean up blood. How easy was it to get blood out of wood anyway? He was going to have to pick everything up and check if anything was broken too. Then of course there was the window too. How much did it cost to replace a window like that? What would he put up in the meantime? He didn't want the place flooded with wildlife while he cleaned.

Why had Daredevil come through the window anyway? It was just plain rude. Phoenix couldn't exactly send him the bill.

Well, not yet.

In fact, _how_ had the vigilante gotten up there anyway? The window faced across the street, so it wasn't like there was a fire escape right under it. 

Phoenix tiptoed through the glass, only pausing to take a couple of pictures with his phone. He'd definitely have to clean this up before anyone else came through. He didn't want to have to rush anyone to the hospital for stitches.

The window was about three and a half feet tall and almost five feet wide, but it was cut into three panes that could be opened individually and were separated by a half inch of wood. Daredevil had managed to completely snap a strip of wood between two of the panes. It wasn't the sturdiest wood and had probably weakened with age, but it was still a hell of a feat.

Phoenix started to lean over the edge of the window, paused, backtracked until he found some abandoned strips of cloth that probably belonged to Trucy, the went back to the windowsill, cloth nestled between each hand and the sharp glass.

It was an older brick building with plenty of small ledges and windowsills along the outside walls. No normal person could climb it, but he _was_ talking about a crazy vigilante now. 

He carefully leaned out the window. He had an unexpected moment of vertigo as he looked down, but it passed quickly. He steadied himself as he inspected the outside of the window, trying very hard to not look straight down. He definitely did not think about what it would be like to be thrown out of this window and the terror of such a sheer drop. The pain of hitting the ground after falling from this height, even with a crappy old mattress to break your fall, also did not cross his mind in the slightest. 

Phoenix had to take an extra moment to steady his breathing.

This wasn’t the kind of building that had the outside cleaned on a regular basis. The bricks were covered with whatever grime could stick and windows were only clean if the people using the spaces bothered to clean them. Looking down, just under his window, he’d never been so happy that was the case.

It was hard to see in the light of day, but he’d studied a lot of footprints in his time, so the shape jumped out at him. It wasn’t the clearest footprint in the world, but the wall was flat enough Phoenix was pretty sure it would be usable enough for a comparison. Maybe this still wasn’t _definitive_ evidence, but it was proof somebody came in through his window. It would be proof that there were two people in his office, and who else but Daredevil would climb up the side of an office building to break in through the window? How many people even could do such a thing?

It was awkward trying to take good pictures at this angle. He refused to lean too far out of the window so it took a lot of tries to get something halfway decent. The anxiety at the thought of dropping his phone didn’t help either. He just tried to focus on the positives, like the fact that it hadn’t rained and washed the print away. 

He wondered if Ema would be willing to compare the print to the shoes of the intruder. Phoenix didn’t expect them to match, but that was kind of the point. Proving the intruder didn’t leave the print would be a step towards proving Daredevil was the second intruder in his office.

What was he talking about? Of course Ema would be willing to compare shoe prints.

She picked up on the first ring.

“Mr. Wright? I was just about to call you, how did you know?”

“I-wait what?”

“Did he already contact you? He wants to talk to you so bad I didn’t think you knew yet.”

“He? Who are you talking about?”

“Wait, you _don’t_ know? Then why are you calling? Ugh, I guess it doesn’t matter. You need to get down to the police precinct Mr. Wright.”

“What, why?”

“The witness from your current case wants to talk to you. He’s claiming he saw Daredevil.”

***

“You were calling about a footprint? Wow, what weird timing,” Ema said while they walked through the precinct, presumably from memory on her part. Her eyes were glued to her phone which currently displayed the best picture Phoenix had managed to take of the footprint.

“Uh, yeah. Do you think you could compare it?” Phoenix responded, though he wasn’t completely paying attention. This whole thing didn’t quite feel real. 

“Of course! Who do you think you’re talking to? I’ll do it while you’re talking to Mr. Regular.”

“Right. The witness.”

Ema glanced up from her phone to study his face.

“You don’t sound too happy about this. It sounds like he’s backing up your theory, as crazy as it sounds.”

“Thanks for the support,” He said sarcastically, earning a smirk from Ema, “but honestly the whole thing is just strange. Why is he changing his entire story now? Why not tell the truth the first time?”

“I don’t know, but he specifically asked to talk to you, so maybe you’re about to find out. It’s unusual, but he refused to explain himself to anybody else.”

“That’s another thing. Why me?”

“I guess you could ask him.” She came to a stop next to a door and nodded to another one right next to it. “He’s in there right now. I’ll be in here on the other side of the glass, keeping an eye on things.”

She paused, turning to face him properly. 

“You don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to Mr. Wright.”

“Don’t worry Ema, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

She raised an eyebrow. Apollo must be rubbing off on him. 

“If he has more information on the case I’d want to talk to him anyway. It’s rare for witnesses to be so cooperative with me, this is like a breath of fresh air.”

He took a deep breath as if to prove his point, and with one last look at Ema, pushed open the door to the interrogation room.

It was uncomfortable, to say the least. The harsh lights, plain off white walls, and cold metal table in the center were bad enough, clearly designed to keep people off balance. Sitting across from someone, though, like a detective about to shake down a suspect, made it truly awful. He hadn’t felt so out of place anywhere in a long time.

“Mr. Regular,” He started, forcing himself to sound as confident as he could, “I was told you had new information on the case involving my client, Mr. Quent. And that you asked to see me specifically.”

The man looked the same as he had before on the stand. Most of his clothes were a slightly different color but still marked with the signs of labor. Only the wool beanie on his head looked completely unchanged.

“Yeah, I-I heard about the trial yesterday. I hear you,” he paused, eyes flickering around nervously for a second, “y-you saw him. Daredevil.”

Phoenix answered slowly.

“Yes, I did, last night.”

Regular’s eyes went wide. He leaned forward, voice turning urgent.

“So did I! Not last night, but...the night of the murder. I saw him attack that guy, that’s why I hid! This whole time I thought I was crazy, but he really was there, wasn’t he?”

Phoenix couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“That’s what I believe, yes. Are you saying you saw Daredevil, the vigilante, murder Garth Cotics? Why didn’t you say that when you testified? Why risk perjuring yourself?”

Regular kept fidgeting, his nervousness clearly getting the better of him.

“I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t want to lie, I just-I was scared. I didn’t know if what I saw was even real, but that Daredevil was terrifying. I saw him kill that guy in cold blood. I didn’t want to be next! Why do you think I’m here now, at the police station? Who knows what’ll happen if he finds out I said anything. This is the closest I’ve felt to being safe in days.”

The fear in his tone, the way his voice broke with emotion, it all seemed very convincing. If it weren’t for the three psychelocks that had come crashing down towards the end of his confession, Phoenix would have believed him.

“If you’re telling me all of this, Mr. Regular, does this mean you intend to testify in court tomorrow?” 

Regular paused again, but finally nodded.

“Yeah. That psycho needs to rot in prison. It’s where he belongs. That’s why I wanted to talk to you instead of that prosecutor. You saw Daredevil too, you get it!”

Phoenix did his best to smile. Something was very, very off about all of this. It would help if he had any idea what Regular was lying about, but all he could do was guess and wonder. At the very least he’d have the cross-examination tomorrow. He’d just have to make the best of it.

“Don’t worry Mr. Regular. I will do everything in my power to ensure the true culprit is held accountable.”

Regular was visibly relieved. He started to say something else but Phoenix was quick to cut him off with a polite goodbye. He wanted to talk to Ema, and Prosecutor Murdock if he got the chance. 

He needed _evidence_.

“Well that was anticlimactic,” Ema said as PHoenix stepped into the viewing room, “I kind of expected you to ask a few more questions. Or any questions, really.”

“I want to, but…” Phoenix hesitated, unsure how to explain psychelocks, “I think he’s hiding something. I’m not sure what but i don’t think he’ll tell me the truth unless I get more evidence.

“Hiding something? But didn’t he just confirm your theory? That testimony could only help you.”

“Yeah, it would be amazing to get testimony like this after presenting such an unconventional theory in court.”

“I don’t get it, what’s the issue then?”

It took a moment for it to click for Ema, but Phoenix was willing to wait. Her eyes went wide as she figured it out.

“How did he know?” She muttered, half to herself. She looked through the one-way window into the room where Regular still sat, fidgeting and staring at the table. 

“There aren’t any reporters allowed in during the trial,” Phoenix said, “and this case has barely even been covered on the news. Either he snuck back in to watch or her had somebody relaying information to him. Why would someone who’s supposed to just be an innocent bystander go to so much trouble to keep up with the trial?”

“I can’t believe this.” Ema rubbed her forehead as if she were willing away a headache.

“What do the police know about him?”

“His name is Joe Regular, he’s forty seven, works at the docks, and has no criminal record,” she answered with a shrug.

“That’s it?”

“Well he has no record and considered an innocent witness so there was no reason to look deeper.”

“But being a dock worker, somebody has to be paying him, right?” A thought struck him. “He doesn’t work for King, does he?”

Ema’s eyes lit up. “I don’t think any specific company was listed in his file but I can check. Since King is being investigated it probably won’t be hard for somebody to directly check the records there, especially if I make a couple of calls.”

For the first time today Phoenix felt a little bud of hope.

“I think I’ve got a call to make too.”

***

King wasn’t cooperating, unsurprisingly. She refused to talk and was forcing the police to jump through every hoop possible as they investigated her and her company. Currently they were still working on warrants to access her company’s records, but Ema assured Phoenix they would have what they needed by the end of the day.

Athena and Apollo had a similar story, but not being police, it was much easier for them to sneak around and ask questions. They had statements from a few employees about Ms. King’s secretive nature. Apparently there were a lot of jobs she kept off any official books and only a limited number of people who were ever privy to them. Nobody they talked to could confirm what those jobs were, but Phoenix was pretty sure he could guess.

This might work. He couldn’t help but smile to himself a little as left the precinct. The might _actually_ work. The only real thorn still in his side was-

“Mr. Wright.”

Murdock stood just off to the side, back straight and both hands resting on his cane. He was bathed in a small patch of shadow created by the police building. The afternoon light barely scraped his side. It hit only a few planes of his face, turning it into straight lines and sharp angles. His glasses were more black than red now, though a couple stripes of color showed where the light was reflected. 

“How did you know it was me?” Phoenix’s entire body tensed. The concern and mistrust came through in his voice all too clearly.

“We need to talk,” Murdock continued in a flat voice as if Phoenix hadn't spoken. 

“Answer me.”

Murdock only tilted his head in response, throwing the patterns of light on his face into disarray. Phoenix followed the movement until he saw the two cops walking towards them. Right now they were in a casual conversation, but the curious look one was giving Phoenix suggested that wouldn't last for long. 

“Take a walk with me,” Murdock said, already moving. It was a statement, not a question, said with the absolute certainty that Phoenix would listen and obey. His stubbornness made him want to ignore it, to turn his nose up and walk in the opposite direction. But what if Murdock knew something important? What is Phoenix missed vital information because of his pride? 

Against his better judgement, he followed.

“So what is it you wanted to talk about?” Phoenix asked once the precinct was out of sight. They'd both been silent up to this point, Murdock’s cane clicking against the concrete being the only source of noise between them.

Murdock started speaking, pausing and lowering his voice when strangers walked a little too close.

“You know, when I first took this case I truly believed Quent was guilty. Though if I'm being honest I never really cared about him. I didn't take the case to prove a murderer guilty; I took it for the information he could provide.”

“You’re here to investigate the drugs. Is that why Daredevil is here? Your vigilante friend followed you out west?”

A mean part of Phoenix took a little pleasure in the way Murdock’s mouth twisted down. It was nice to not have to deal with that smirk for once.

“I’m here to investigate the drugs.” He finally admitted, though the omission of his friend didn't go unnoticed. “I’d hit a dead end in New York, but there were rumors of product finally hitting the west coast through L.A. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted the truth in this case, but it's also true that this trial was more of a means to an end for me. I got lazy because of it. I made mistakes. Including Joe Regular.”

The disdain in his voice was so strong it could be mistaken for hatred. 

“I know when people are lying, usually. I didn’t notice any of the signs with Regular. I took the whole thing at face value. With King...well, I knew she was hiding things, but I thought she was telling the truth about this at least. I figured I could deal with her after this trial was over. But instead of the quick trial I expected, I’ve been proven wrong at every turn. Regular is a criminal who has lied at every chance he’s had. You showed that when he was in court. You knew it to be true when you talked to him at the station. You can’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

Phoenix had to remind himself to breath.

“You never answered me, Murdock. How did you know I talked to him? How did you know any of this?”

Again, Murdock didn’t answer. He just kept walking, cane swinging back and forth in front of him as he walked. He barely even touched it to the ground now, moving it so fast Phoenix doubted it could be of any use. He never showed any sign of confusion when walking, though. Not a single misstep, not a single moment of accidentally bumping into a hurried pedestrian rushing past him. A sick feeling gripped Phoenix’s stomach as Murdock continued talking. 

“He’d been so sure when talking to me, but the way his heart beat during the cross-examination, it was more than clear he knew something more. So, I looked into him. Everything about him is a lie, even his name. But I managed to find a connection of this fake persona to King. He is listed as an employee of hers, by the way. Or at least this name is,” Murdock said as a casual aside to Phoenix, as if this was completely normal and Phoenix wasn’t trying not to panic next to him, “but I’m sure that would be enough for you to work with in court if you really wanted. When I found King, though, I thought everything made sense. Regular was probably involved with the drugs and didn’t want to admit it, but based on what King told me, the rest must have been the truth. Even after they went after you I assumed it all just tied back to King and her smuggling. I thought I could deal with it later. I didn’t doubt the conclusion I’d come to. So I brought her in, still believing Quent was guilty. That first day was a bump in the road, not a roadblock. I was so sure it would all end today.

“But of course you made sure it didn’t. Apparently I’ve completely misread everything up to this point, so I suppose I’m grateful for your persistence, Mr. Wright. The police are going after King today, but I spent my time looking for Regular. I wanted the full truth from him for once. It led me right back to the police station where he made his little ‘confession’ to you. I don’t know what he’s trying to accomplish, exactly. Maybe he just wants to make sure nobody points a finger at him. Maybe he’s protecting his illegal business interests. Maybe he’s just evil. But I can tell you with absolute certainty he did not witness Daredevil shooting that man. He is lying to you, and I-”

Murdock paused to take a steadying breath. Their pace had slowed down to a crawl, until finally, Murdock took this opportunity to gently tug Phoenix to the side. They were outside some cafe, so Murdock dropped into a chair by one of the smaller tables. Phoenix joined him without question. It was a relief, to sit down. It made it easier to focus on staying calm. 

_Breath in, breath out._

His mind was scattered chaos, fighting itself over all the information, both new and old. It couldn’t stop the conclusion creeping forward, slowly but surely, determined to be heard.

“I needed you to know,” Murdock finally said, one hand holding his cane in his lap, the other clenched into a fist in front of him, “before you finished building your defense for tomorrow. I can’t tell you who murdered Cotics. Maybe your client really is innocent, I don’t know. I just know it wasn’t Daredevil.”

“...Is that what you wanted to tell me?” God, Phoenix hoped he sounded as confident and calm as he wanted to. “You wanted to tell me it wasn’t Daredevil? Without even saying why you’re so sure of that? Or how you knew I talked to Regular? Or that I wanted to look into his connection with King? Or hell, even how you knew it was me walking out of the station?” 

He could feel his frustration grow with each word. It must have been showing on his face, based on the way the poor waiter who had been walking towards them suddenly turned tail.

“I’m pretty good at knowing when people are lying myself, Prosecutor Murdock, and I’m pretty damn sure you’ve been lying this entire time. You’ve known Daredevil was here the whole damn time. He threw a person out of a window several stories up and you’re still here lying and defending him.”

“He didn’t die.”

Phoenix wanted to respond, he really did, but it felt like he was choking on his own words. There was no way this could be real, any of it, but here he was, sitting across from the blind prosecutor who walked without needing his cane and parroted the same words Daredevil himself had said. He didn’t say them in the deep growl Daredevil had, but the voice, the cadence, it was all too familiar. 

Phoenix burst out laughing, in a slightly hysterical and unhinged way. 

“Is that how all vigilantes disguise their voice?” He asked between gasping breaths as he started to calm back down. Murdock’s face had gone from tight to confused and concerned. 

“What?” Murdock asked. Apparently he was baffled enough he’d forgotten to be perpetually tense and brooding, if just for a moment. “You know, growling every word in a deep voice, like sounding angry will prevent anyone from recognizing you.” 

Murdock didn’t respond, so Phoenix just focused on breathing normally.

“Lawyer by day, vigilante by night.” He let out one last chuckle. “Someone should make a comic out of that. Maya would love it.” He added the last part as an afterthought.

Phoenix focused on Murdock again and found what little humor he had left drain away.

“Is that why you pretend to be blind? Even if someone recognizes your voice, who could suspect the blind guy? Just a little white lie in the grand scheme of things, right?”

Phoenix hated the bitterness in his voice. It was starting to feel a little too personal. He could almost hear all the years he lost to a single lie laughing in his face while he sat across from a man who lived a lie every day and lost nothing.

He forced himself to take a deep breath. Phoenix knew better than to fall down that hole. He had a good life, a good family, and right now, a client to prove innocent. 

Murdock hadn’t moved as he watched Phoenix ground himself again, but now he reached up, removing his glasses and gently placing them on the table. 

His eyes faced straight ahead, looking at nothing, each iris obscured by a thick white cloud. 

“I am blind,” Murdock said, so quietly it was nearly a whisper, “that’s not a lie. There are a lot of...complicated things about me, but this is the truth.”

“I…” Phoenix paused to swallow. “I don’t understand.”

“Like I said, it’s…”

“Complicated?”

“Yeah.”

Phoenix leaned back in his chair. Murdock returned his glasses to his face. 

It was very, very uncomfortable. 

There was a moment of relief when a waitress walked up carrying a couple of waters, but Murdock was quick to send her away when she tried to take their order. Though Phoenix stopped her one last time to order a coffee. It was the least he could do after taking up one of their tables for so long. After a moment, Murdock relented and ordered one of his own.

The last couple of days were starting to feel like a chaotic mess in his mind. Phoenix tried to sort through it, to lay everything out so it made even a sliver of sense, but every time he managed even the most tenuous grasp on something solid, it was ripped away. 

It barely even felt _real_. It was more like an elaborate joke, a huge trick everyone was in on except him. Any moment now Murdock would burst out laughing, camera crews would pop up from behind bushes, and Phoenix could finally go back to a sensible world after they all had a good chuckle at his expense. 

He didn’t know what to say or do. He moved his hands from his lap to the table, then back to his lap, then one grabbed the back of his neck, then back to the table. He shifted forwards and backwards in his seat trying to get comfortable. What kind of chairs were these? Who thought they were a good idea? These were the worst chairs he’d ever come across. He should complain.

Instead he took a sip of water, choking when he drank so fast it went down the wrong way. When the coughing subsided, he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest, as if nothing had happened. 

When the waitress brought them their coffees he was almost afraid to pick his up.

Murdock was the one who finally found the courage to speak, running a hand over his face, leaving behind a tired expression. 

“I’m sorry, I know this is a lot. I’ve let things get out of control, and now...I think I need your help to fix things, Mr. Wright.”

The entire world was spinning, being flipped onto its head, and Phoenix was powerless to do anything more than hold on for dear life. Murdock lived in another world where insanity and chaos were casual bedmates on a daily basis, and he’d dragged Phoenix down into it. He could barely understand this kind of world, let alone survive it. It was suffocating. 

It was _unfair_. Murdock could try to hide in the shadows all he wanted, but Phoenix wasn’t going to let him get anywhere without a fight. 

“My help? I only know one way to help people, Mr. Murdock, and that’s with the truth. You want my help, then I need you to tell me everything. No more hiding things, no half truths, and especially no more lies. So tell me, honestly-were you there the night of the murder?”

Their table was an island of tension at odds with the lighthearted sounds of conversation and laughter around them. Murdock had gone still, more like a statue than a man.

“Yes,” He finally answered. Phoenix inhaled sharply, more surprised than he had any right to be.

“Are you Daredevil?” He asked. God, he hoped his voice stayed steady. He wrapped a hand around his coffee cup, the warmth a nice, grounding sensation. 

It took Murdock longer this time. Phoenix could only imagine what was going through his head. He might be about to reveal his secret identity to a stranger.

To Phoenix. 

What would Phoenix even do? Daredevil was a well known vigilante, not a superhero. He was suspected in a frighteningly long list of crimes, and considered more of a wild card than a reliable hero. 

What would he do in court? Would he be forced to expose Murdock? Would he even want to?

No, this was too much. He never should have asked, he should have found another way. He should say something, tell Murdock it was okay, he didn’t have to say-

“Yes, I am.” 

Oh.

Phoenix tried to think of something to say.

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” Murdock repeated, “This is- I’m sorry.” 

His voice was strained and tired. The way his shoulders started to slump it seemed like the tension was starting to get to him.

Maybe all those lies cost him something after all.

“I don’t need apologies right now,” Phoenix said as gently as he could manage, “I need you to tell me what happened. If you were there, you must know what really happened, you must have seen the real killer.”

Murdock was already shaking his head before Phoenix finished talking.

“It’s not that simple, unfortunately.”

_Is anything simple with you?_

Murdock spoke quickly and quietly.

“I told you I was trying to track the source of these drug shipments in New York. A lead brought me here. It wasn’t much, but it was better than the whole lot of nothing I had back home. I...talked to a few people on the streets, trying to get information on who was planning to bring the new stuff in. I didn’t get any names but I caught wind of a sample shipment coming in. Something to test the waters, so to speak. I found out when and where, so that night I went to investigate. 

“There were two people waiting by the shipment. One was nervous, the other pretty calm. I could hear a third heartbeat but it was too far away and out of sight for me to consider it of any consequence.”

_Excuse me, heard a heartbeat?_

“I waited for a couple of minutes, listening for anyone else, for any incoming vehicles, anything out of the ordinary. When the two started arguing-the truck to pick up the product was running late, apparently-I decided to get involved.

“I didn’t care about either of them, I just wanted information. I jumped in when they were distracted, knocked the first one down, then grabbed the second. I tried to ask him what he knew and get a name, but before he could even try to answer, there was a gunshot.

“After that, it’s...fuzzy. The bullet hit one of the crates. These drugs, even just inhaling a little bit of powder in the air is enough to mess someone up. It messes with your senses. You can’t trust anything you hear or smell or feel. For someone like me that’s really, really bad. I didn’t know where anything was, or anyone. One moment there were two people, then four, then a dozen, then nobody. Everything blended together so badly I couldn’t even tell if I was walking straight. I remember hearing another gunshot. Somebody tried to grab at me and I hit them, hard. Then I ran. I hadn’t even noticed I’d dropped my baton until the next day, but by then the police were crawling all over the scene.

“I was angry that everything had gone so wrong. I hated losing control like that. But Quent was the only other person there, and I was so sure it had to be him. I don’t remember thinking either of them were packing, but after getting so messed up I couldn’t trust my own memory of that night.”

“But there was a third person there. Regular.” Phoenix pressed. The shock of the situation was fading away, replaced by calm deliberation as he slowly pieced together the logic puzzle in front of him.

“It made sense at the time. He came off as completely sincere. His heartbeat was steady the entire time we talked.”

Again with heartbeats. Phoenix would have to ask about that later.

“But now you think he’s the killer?”

“He has to be. Nobody else was there. I knew that before I was incapacitated, I’m sure of that much. He has a connection to King, so once she’s connected to the smuggling we can connect him to it.”

Phoenix frowned.

“We don’t know the police will be able to prove a connection. Even if they do, we don’t have a motive for regular to kill Cotics.”

Murdock mirrored Phoenix’s frown. He tapped a finger against his cane while lost in thought.

“Well,” He started, laying each word out carefully as he spoke, “I may be able to help with that.”

“How? It’s not like we have another witness.”

Murdock tilted his head, and for the first time that day, he let his nearly insufferable smirk slip back onto his face.

“Did I tell you about that time I went to the supreme court?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired and I took way to long to do this please send help in the form of chocolate


	5. Trial Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last day of the trial, and the last chance for Phoenix to prove his client innocent. Matt plays dress up.

“I can’t believe he didn’t even answer your calls!”

Hands slapped together, a fist into a palm from the sound of it. Too dense for just two flat palms.

“Athena, calm down…”

The other attorney, Apollo, was far calmer. He seemed more exasperated than anything at his associate’s behavior if his small sighs were anything to go by.

“You should let me have a go at him Mr. Wright, I’ll get him to talk!”

“It’s ok Athena, really.”

Wright spoke this time, like a father to his children. A little tired, a little put out, and very proud.

“I have a good feeling about this trial guys. Really. We’ll turn it all around.”

Even from a distance it was clear none of them believed him. Quent’s heart stuttered from nervousness, even if he was sitting apart from the rest of them.

“Well,” Apollo started again, “we’ve got Regular’s testimony, right? Even if it turns out he is lying, we know he’s connected to King. We can probably catch him in the cross-examination.”

He spoke with a thoughtful tone, tinged with hope.

“We don’t know what that prosecutor might have though,” Athena countered, “for all we know he could be dirty.”

Wright stayed out of it this time, letting his subordinates hash it out amongst themselves. His heart kicked up occasionally, fluttering when they spoke of the prosecution or Regular. A sign of guilt, if Matt had to guess.

“Hey Murdock, you there?”

“Hmm?”

Of course it was impossible for him _not_ to hear Foggy. His best friend had been in a foul mood since they’d discussed strategy the night before. He’d made it very clear he did not approve of this plan, but in the end, he was still here, still willing to help.

Matt felt a small surge of fondness at the thought.

“Don’t pretend like you can’t hear me. You eavesdropping on the defense, counselor?”

“They’re very loud. You can’t call it eavesdropping when I can hear it from here.”

“From anybody else I just might buy that.”

Matt couldn’t help but smile just a little.

“Discrimination. I could sue.”

“I wouldn’t. I’ll be represented by the best lawyer around.”

“True,” Matt agreed. Foggy huffed in a show of discontent, but he was finally starting to relax, just a little. 

“Why are you listening in anyway? It’s not like you’re going to learn anything,” Foggy asked.

“Like I said, they’re loud. And it’s hard not to be interested; it sounds like Wright didn’t tell his co-counsel anything.”

“What, really? Why not?”

Matt shrugged.

“I’m sure he has some sort of plan.”

“It scares me to hear you say that.” Foggy sighed. “How would you even know? You’ve known him all of three days.”

Matt tilted his head before he responded. Apollo had started yelling “I’m fine!” loudly enough it drowned out a lot of the noise around him. Well, whatever worked for him.

“This might sound a little stupid, Foggy, but the truth is...I believe in him.”

***

Both Athena and Apollo had squeezed themselves next to Phoenix behind the bench. It was a little crowded but at this point Phoenix was more than used to it. Even the judge barely reacted, despite Athena and Apollo declaring their readiness almost simultaneously with painfully similar volumes. 

“It was Prosecutor Nelson, yes?” The judge asked said Mr. Nelson, who currently stood behind the prosecutors bench alone. Athena and Apollo exchanged looks at the obvious absence. 

“That’s correct, Your Honor.”

“If I may ask, where is Mr. Murdock? He’s not running late, is he?”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Murdock will not be joining us today. He was injured in an accidental fall last night and is currently recovering at a hospital.”

“Oh my!”

“A report was filed last night to alert you to the situation and declare me as Mr. Murdock’s replacement for the remainder of this trial. It was signed by Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth. I hope it didn’t get lost before it reached you.”

The judge frowned down at the papers in front of him.

“Why I don’t remember…” he muttered as he flipped through them absentmindedly. Everyone, except maybe Apollo and Athena, who both showed their surprise, waited patiently for the inevitable. When it finally happened, the judge blushed red with embarrassment and laid the forms back down. 

“Ah, yes, I-I remember now, of course. Thank you Prosecutor Nelson. I believe with that, we can begin.

“Mr. Wright, at the end of yesterday’s trial you left us with some outrageous claims. You claimed that the vigilante Daring-”

“Daredevil Your Honor.”

“-Daredevil was the true murderer, not your client, despite quite a bit of evidence to the contrary. I hope today you’ve brought solid evidence to prove these claims, and not just more wild theories, or I will be forced to declare my verdict now.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

Athena and Apollo both looked to him, as if they expected him to pull a miracle out of thin air. He couldn’t bring himself to look back. He hated hiding the truth from them like this, but it was necessary. It was why he was counting on them so much right now.

He hadn’t told _anybody_ the whole truth. It was probably the only way he could get through this trial in one piece.

At least, he hoped so.

He glanced at Nelson, but the prosecutor was completely focused on the judge.

“A witness has come forward,” Phoenix finally continued, “with new information for the defense.”

“Really? Now that is interesting. I assume you intend to call that witness to testify?”

The judge turned back to Nelson.

“Does the prosecution have any objections?”

“No, Your Honor.”

Nelson replied quickly. The judge raised an eyebrow, but Nelson had a good poker face, giving nobody anything to work with. 

“Hmm. Well, alright then. Pr-I mean, defense, call your first witness.”

Phoenix ignored the murmurs as Regular was trotted back onto the witness stand. The man looked almost identical to how he’d been on the first day. Part of Phoenix wondered if he even had any other clothes. Only his attitude showed any change. The dull, uncaring, unaware man from the first day of the trial had become alert and jumpy, and it didn’t go unnoticed. 

Athena narrowed in on him instantly. Good. One word out of his mouth and she could get a read on him. One slip up and Apollo would pinpoint the lie. 

There was no escape from the truth now. Phoenix would make sure of it.

“Joe Regular. Dock worker.” Clear, concise. Like a completely different man had taken the stand.

“Wait a moment.” The judge squinted down at Regular. “You testified on the first day. Are you telling me you have information you didn’t share with the court previously?”

Regular glanced down as if he were ashamed.

“Yes, it’s true. I didn’t tell the truth before.” He raised his head in defiance as the whispers spread across the gallery. “But I intend to explain myself. I feared for my life, and I made a bad decision because of it. I can’t change what I did, but I can try to undo the damage now. I’ll even take whatever punishment the court sees fit for my lies.”

_You’re damn right you will._

Phoenix clenched his jaw. The judge almost looked _moved_ , as if Regular wasn’t putting on a show to hide mounds of lies. The man’s voice felt like an oil slick, his words fell out of his mouth like living slime. Why did nobody see through it? Why did everyone believe him?

Well, not everyone. Both of his subordinates had turned to him. Apollo gripped his bracelet already, face tense. Athena’s was tight with concern, though it did seem directed a little more at Phoenix. 

He tried to force himself to relax. He opened his hands, splaying them on the bench in front of him instead of allowing them to stay curled into fists. He breathed through his nose, counting in fours as he clenched his jaw. 

He shook his head, just a fraction. Still, they both seemed to understand, and turned back to the trial at hand. At least nobody seemed to notice the whole exchange.

“I see, Mr. Regular. We can discuss any actions that may or may not need to be taken in regards to your previous actions later. For now, please testify on what you witnessed the night of the murder. I am very eager to hear this new information.” The judge finished with a nod at the witness.

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

With that, Regular launched into his new version of events. Everything was exactly what you’d want in a witness. His voice wavered with emotion in the right spots, the detail was useful yet vague enough to be believable, his expressions were earnest, tone sincere. 

Phoenix hated every second of it. It was obvious his fellow defense attorneys agreed. He had to shake his head again when Apollo started to open his mouth, his hand never once leaving his bracelet during the testimony. Widget pulsed between colors of confusion and anger as Athena tracked the emotion in every syllable. They were both ready to pounce.

_Not yet_ , Phoenix silently begged, _you have to wait, it won’t work yet_.

“The part of my original testimony where I went to work early; that much was true. I’ve worked at those docks for so long, they’re like a second home. I didn’t think anything of it. Of course, that also means I know what they’re supposed to be like at that time of night. There was a bunch of noise by loading bay three. Nobody usually works around that area until later in the morning, so I thought I’d go take a look, to make sure it wasn’t some lost new guys or something.

“There were two guys there, arguing over a bunch of crates. Looked like one of them moved the crates out of the bay itself, which is stupid for a whole lot of reasons, and the other guy was pissed about it. I didn’t recognize them at the time, but I can say now, the people I saw were definitely the defendant and the guy who got killed. Neither of them looked like they belonged there, really, but like I said, I thought maybe they were just new. Decided it wasn’t my business so I started to turn around to go back to where I needed to be.

“Then I heard it. A thud, then a lot of shouting. It sounded pretty bad so I ran back to see what was going on. I thought maybe those two had started fighting but-but it wasn't them. It was the devil.

“He was wearing that freaky red suit and everything. One guy-the defendant- was on the ground. That crazy devil had the other. It looked like he'd shoved the poor guy into one of the crates, and he held this baton over his head like he was gonna crush the guys skull in.

“There was a struggle. It was crazy, they even bust open one of the crates. White powder was flying everywhere. For a second I couldn't see anything, then...the devil shot the guy. He killed a man then ran off like the coward he is. I called the cops but I was so scared. What if he’d seen me? What if he found out I talked and came after me next?

“So I lied. I'm not proud, but there it is. The whole truth.”

“Unbelievable. That a vigilante would commit such a crime in this city... Well, defense, if you would start your cross-examination.” The judge said.

Finally, it was their turn. Regular threw Phoenix a conspiratorial smile. Phoenix responded with a smile of his own, the sharp edge of the blade that would take Regular down. From the way the other man’s expression faltered, a little bit of that must have come through. 

Good. Phoenix didn’t need him to think they were on the same side anymore. 

“I wanted to clarify something, Mr. Regular,” Phoenix started, “You said that a crate burst open, throwing white powder everywhere before a shot was fired, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And almost immediately after, the victim was shot.”

“...Yes.”

“If that were true, wouldn’t the powder obscure your view?”

“I know what I saw,” Regular responded defensively.

Phoenix nodded, almost sympathetically.

“I just want to make sure we have all of our facts straight, that’s all. You’re saying the powder didn’t obscure your view, and you clearly saw Daredevil shoot the victim.”

Regular hesitated before he answered. It was only for a moment, but it was more than enough.

“Yes, I saw Daredevil clearly shoot the victim.”

“Objection!”

Apollo threw his hand out, arm straight when he pointed at the witness.

“That’s an unfortunate tick you have there, Mr. Regular. You fiddle with a button on your coat every time you lie, and your hand was on it through that entire answer. You’re lying to us, Mr. Regular. You didn’t actually see what you say you saw, did you? Tell the court the truth!”

More than a little sticky on the landing, but Phoenix appreciated the dramatics of it all. Apollo’s ringing voice helped too, brought authority to his claims. Regular even jumped a little before scowling at the lawyer. 

“What are you going on about?”

“Just now you even told Mr. Wright the gunshot happened almost immediately after the crate burst open. If that were true, there’s no way your view of the incident could have been clear, especially since it was established on the first day of the trial that the lighting in that area was poor! You can’t say with certainty that you saw Daredevil even wield a gun, can you Mr. Regular?”

“I...I mean…”

The judge smacked his gavel down, quieting the conversations in the room before they had a chance to really get going.

“That is a good point, Mr. Justice, But I also wonder...you do know that Daredevil isn’t the defendant, right? And you haven’t forgotten that you’re the defense, correct?”

Apollo’s vigor drained to be replaced by embarrassment clear on his face.

“O-of course, Your Honor!”

Guilt gnawed at Phoenix. He’d told his subordinates that Regular was a liar, and he told them his suspicions that Regular knew the truth about what happened, but that was it. He’d left out the most important part of his plan, which left poor Apollo struggling for solutions to the problem he just created.

“The defense just wonders, Your Honor, why the witness would lie about that in the first place! And if he’s lying now, what else might not be true? By his own admission he’s already lied in court previously!” Apollo’s voice grew stronger as he spoke, regaining it’s confidence bit by bit. Still not enough to explain to the judge why they were going down this path, but better than stammering. 

“Again, I agree Mr. Justice, but again, you realize this doesn’t help your case? If the witness is in fact lying, then there’s no proof that Daredevil was the murderer. If he wasn’t the murderer, then that only leaves one possibility.”

_Guess we’re bringing out the ace sooner than I thought._

Phoenix shot a meaningful look across the courtroom. Nelson returned it along with a small nod. 

“Your honor,” Nelson called out, startling the judge, “the Prosecution agrees that this witness’s testimony sounds strange, and may not be the entire truth. Unlike the defense, however, the Prosecution was prepared for this eventuality. I have one last witness I would like to call to the stand.”

Everyone in the room, except for Phoenix, gaped at Nelson. Slowly, Phoenix could feel Athena’s eyes turn to him; his lack of surprise must have been a little too noticeable. He kept his focus on the events in front of him, though. He needed to pay attention to this. 

“What? You found another witness? How have I not heard of this before?”

“The existence of this witness wasn’t known to the prosecution until yesterday, unfortunately, and tracking them down was a difficult task. I wasn’t sure he would be available for testimony today at all.”

Nelson kept his face a blank mask amid the confusion rippling through the courtroom. The judge seemed too curious to tamper the noise back down. 

“I see. Has the defense finished the cross-examination of Joe Regular?”

Phoenix was quick to cut Apollo off.

“Yes, Your Honor, though I request Mr. Regular stay on property in case his testimony is needed again.”

“Of course. Then Mr. Regular, you are dismissed for now. Prosecution, you may call your witness.”

Regular left the stand without a fight, but he managed to glare at Phoenix right until a door shut in his face. He was probably panicking as he tried to figure out who this mysterious new witness was. Hell, he probably had somebody relaying everything that happened back to him just in case. Phoenix had to fight to keep himself from scouring the crowd for criminals, as if they would have a sign hanging around their neck to expose them.

Nelson cleared his throat.

“The Prosecution calls Daredevil to the stand.”

The courtroom _erupted_. Phoenix could barely differentiate between all the yelling voices. Even Apollo’s shocked yelp was drowned out in the overwhelming chaos. 

Every time he thought it might be dying down, the insanity reared back up again. Nobody seemed to care no matter how much the judge yelled and banged his gavel. Phoenix started to truly get nervous. The last time a courtroom had gotten this bad, the judge had been forced to call a recess and force everyone out of the room.

Again, he looked at Nelson, the only other calm person in the room. Nelson didn’t return it this time, however. His head was bent, brow furrowed, and he was muttering to himself. 

Phoenix didn’t have time to think about it. He wouldn’t make the connection until hours after the trial had ended, since right now, Daredevil had casually walked up to the witness stand and stalled all other possible thoughts.

Daredevil didn’t look at Phoenix-he couldn’t-but he must have sensed Phoenix looking at him. Daredevil offered a small, reassuring smile. Phoenix swallowed down his nervousness. He really didn’t have time for that now.

Daredevil’s actual appearance created another burst of chaotic noise. At this point people were pulling out phones and trying their best to sneak pictures of the famous vigilante in front of them while harried guards ran through the seats blocking photos and taking phones. Phoenix had to give his own subordinates a slight glare as they reached for their own cameras. 

“How are you so calm!” Athena demanded while awkwardly leaning over Apollo. “How did the prosecution get the _actual_ Daredevil to show up? Nobody even knows his real name!”

There was no way to answer that, and Phoenix tried to think of something, he really did. Athena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Mr. Wright did you-”

“You both need to focus,” Phoenix hissed. He was going to have a lot of apologizing to do after the trial if Athena’s expression was anything to go by. He’d be cleaning the toilets for _weeks_.

Finally, the room calmed down enough for the judge to speak.

“This is unbelievable. A real superhero in my courtroom. It’s quite exciting. Of course, it’s also rather strange. As far as I know, nothing like this has happened in this city before.” 

Nelson was already pulling papers out of a briefcase.

“There is precedent for this, Your Honor, in-”

“Though this may surprise you, Mr. Nelson, I am aware of that precedent. I do watch the news, after all. It was Murdock himself who set this precedent, correct? Arguing, and winning, in the Supreme Court itself is no small feat.”

“Ah, well, yes.” Nelson said with clear surprise. 

“Then it’s a shame he couldn’t be here for this today. I assume he was involved in recruiting this witness, however, so we can trust that the real Daredevil stands before us today. Is that correct, Mr. Nelson?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Nelson quickly answered. A little knot of tension Phoenix hadn’t known was there finally relaxed. He had expected a lot more difficulty getting past the judge, but if this part went this well, just maybe the rest would go smoothly as well.

“Mr. Wright,”

Phoenix jumped, knocked out of his own thoughts.

“Before we continue, I want to make sure you are also aware of this precedent and have no objections if we continue with this witness.”

“The defense has no objections Your Honor.”

“Wait, I do! I mean, objection!”

Phoenix closed his eyes. _Athena, what are you doing?_

She slammed her hand on the bench.

“Not all of the defense understands what’s going on!”

“ _This is crazy!_ ” Widget echoed, earning a slight blush from Athena. Apollo, on the other hand, turned to her with a frown.

“You don’t know? People v. Slugansky, the huge case that completely changed how superheros work with the legal system? They voted in favor of letting heros and vigilantes testify in costume?”

She gave him a blank look.

“You _seriously_ haven’t heard about that?”

“I, uh, of course I have. I just wanted to make sure you had!”

_Athena, please…_

The judge cleared his throat.

“May we continue?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Athena muttered, throwing another dirty look at Phoenix.

He might be cleaning the toilet for _months_.

“Mr. Daredevil, a lot has been said about you and the events of this over the last three days. I know you have a lot of fans in New York, but no amount of hero fame will keep you safe from the law. I hope for your sake that the things I’ve heard so far are untrue, and that you will give us nothing less than a true account of that night.”

“Of course, Your Honor. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Daredevil said with a small tilt of his head and such a painfully familiar smirk Phoenix was amazed nobody guessed his identity there and then. Is this what Nelson dealt with on a daily basis? Phoenix tried looking to Nelson for some support or agreement, but once again was met with a wall. 

Phoenix deflated a little. Where was Edgeworth when you needed him?

Daredevil made a show of standing up straight and loosely crossing his arms so that the two large D’s emblazoned on his chest were still visible before he spoke.

“For me, this started back in New York. There was something new on the streets, this incredibly powerful, and dangerous drug. It goes by a dozen different names; sometimes it feels like every person in the city had heard a different name for it. It made it difficult for the authorities to track the source. I was doing my own investigation, but hit a dead end. I eventually heard some reliable information that a new shipment was going to hit here in L.A. I was hoping if I got here in time and caught them off guard, I could find the people responsible and turn them over to the police.

“I heard about a small shipment coming in just a day before it was supposed to happen. Of course, this was the shipment that the defendant and victim would be unloading. I had never heard of either of them before, and the information I’d gotten was just a rumor, which wasn’t something I could really trust. I decided to see for myself if it was true before involving the police.

“When I arrived at the scene, I saw the defendant and victim standing by the loading bay. One of them started moving crates out of the actual bay, and they began arguing over it. The entire scene was suspicious, but there was no obvious evidence of illegal activity. I decided to approach them and try to get a handle on the situation.

“They didn’t react well to me showing up, especially the victim. We had an...intense discussion. I wanted to know if they knew anything about their bosses. We didn’t get far before I heard a gunshot, though. It hit one of the crates, which threw up a lot of powder that obscured my view. I heard a second gunshot, but couldn’t see where it came from, or even where it hit. I ran, hoping to find the shooter, but I never did. By then it was too late to help the victim and the police were already on their way. That was when I left the scene.”

Phoenix felt his gut twist. Nothing Daredevil had said was a lite, exactly, but it wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t what Matt told him yesterday. Maybe Matt had realized it didn’t matter if he lied, Phoenix couldn’t admit to speaking to him already.

That was a mistake. Phoenix knew Matt wasn’t the killer, but he knew Daredevil was hiding something.

“The gunshot that you heard, Daredevil-what direction did it come from?” Phoenix asked.

Daredevil paused, brow furrowed.

“It was hard to tell.” He admitted. “Not from anywhere in front of me, I don’t think.”

“You don’t think? You’re unsure?” Phoenix did his best to keep his tone detached, not that it fooled Daredevil in the slightest. The vigilante frowned.

“You said the powder only obscured your vision, correct?” Phoenix pressed.

“It made it difficult to tell what was going on around me, yes,” He responded tersely. 

“According to a statement from the defendant,” Phoenix began again, picking up a random piece of paper to hold in front of him, “when the crate broke and threw out powder, _all_ of his sense were affected. He could barely walked in a straight line. Is it possible, then, that it had a similar effect on you?”

_”What are you doing?”_ Nelson mouthed from across the room. The crowd was becoming restless once again at his cross-examination. Daredevil just continued to frown. 

“Even if it did affect me, it doesn’t matter. I still wasn’t carrying a gun; I never do. I didn’t fire one or even pick one up, and I didn’t kill the victim.”

Athena’s hand shot up, wiggling as if she was an excited teenager trying to get the teacher’s attention. The judge stared at her, mouth hanging open with half formed words already dying in his mouth.

“Yes, Ms. Cykes?”

“I would like to use my mood matrix on the witness with the court’s permission!”

“I see. While that has had its uses in the past, I’m not sure now is the time.”

“Please, Your Honor? It won’t take long!”

“Well…”

“ _Objection!_ ” Nelson shouted, glancing between the judge, Athena, and Phoenix in confusion. 

“I’ve never heard of a mood matrix before. I can’t condone the use of an unknown element on my witness.”

“I’ll show you then!”

Athena flicked her hands until she had pulled up the holographic mood matrix into view.

“It helps me sort through emotions,” she explained, “which can cloud a person’s memory and recollection of events. I’m hearing a lot of emotion in this testimony that shouldn’t be there, especially uncertainty and confusion. This might help you remember everything more accurately.”

“You _heard_ my emotions?”

The disbelief in Daredevil’s voice made Phoenix want to laugh. As if he had any right to talk.

Athena turned her pleading eyes on the judge. It was obvious he was starting to waiver.

“This is ridiculous! The defense has shown no clear contradictions and given no solid evidence my witness is telling anything but the truth. I object to the use of this matrix...thing,” Nelson finished a little lamely. 

“The judge has already been lenient by allowing your witness to testify in a mask! We have a right to find the truth!” Apollo shouted.

“You yourself explained the precedent set for this very situation!” 

“That precedent doesn't make your witness immune to the law!”

The sound of wood smacking into wood echoed as the judge brought the argument to a quick and sharp end.

“Order, order!”

Phoenix watched the whole thing in bemusement. He barely needed to be here, did he? A little balloon of pride swelled in his chest. His subordinates had both grown so much since he first met them. A courtroom argument probably shouldn't be heartwarming, and yet, here he was, smiling like a proud father. He didn't even stop when the bailiff gave him a strange look. He just waved.

“The prosecution's objection is overruled. I have seen Ms. Cykes matrix in action in the past. While I don’t fully understand it, I cannot argue with the results. However, this does not give you free rein Ms. Cykes. If nothing comes of this, we will move on and I will give my verdict. Understood?”

“Understood.”

She pressed a few buttons before turning to the witness stand. 

“Daredevil, I'm going to need you to repeat your testimony. Please,” she quickly added at the vigilante’s expression. 

Despite whatever reservations he had, Daredevil obediently repeated his testimony almost word for word. Phoenix winced a little as he watched the matrix react. He was no expert, but he’d used it enough before to understand what he was seeing. The second Daredevil mentioned the crate breaking, the matrix devolved into flashing signs of overloaded emotions layered over a solid screen of static. It stayed like that through the end of the testimony. 

“Oh boy,” Athena muttered.

Phoenix could see Daredevil tilting his head as he tried to understand what he was hearing. The matrix showed up as a flat screen that analyzed emotions in a person’s voice and displayed them in the form of cute smiley faces likely designed by Athena herself. Daredevil might hear the static and the high pitched pinging of the frantic emotions, but there was no way he could understand what those noises meant.

A dozen questions and angles filled his head, but Phoenix bit his tongue. Athena could do this. It was her specialty after all. Daredevil, lawyer by day, could probably find the tiniest flaws in Phoenix’s logic to exploit. Emotions, though? That was an entirely different game, one that Daredevil didn’t seem nearly as practiced with.

Athena took a moment to study her matrix. She gave a little nod before speaking, though Phoenix had no idea what else she could get from that mess.

“Daredevil, you said you’re ability to see your surroundings was obscured when the crate burst open. That must have been confusing, upsetting even. So why did you feel happiness, too?”

Daredevil balked.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t happy at all. This entire exercise is ridiculous.”

Athena shook her head, unfazed.

“I thought it was strange too, but emotions are complicated things. I agree, you didn’t feel happy-not in the traditional sense. I believe what you felt was an artificial high from the drugs. Like Mr. Wright said, it’s potent and can take affect just from breathing it in.”

“If you’re trying to discredit my testimony-”

“No! I just want to help you remember clearly so we can get the truth. But I can only do that if you accept the truth, too.”

There was a tense moment where nobody spoke. Daredevil was turned towards Athena, head tilted in that way Phoenix knew meant he was listening. It felt like an eternity before he relented.

“It’s true I breathed in some of the powder. I was standing too close and got taken by surprise, there was no way to avoid it. But,” He leaned forward now, almost imploring, “I’ve seen the effects this drug has. It messes with a person’s senses, but it doesn’t affect the control a person has over their own body. You’re right that I can’t trust everything I heard after that crate burst open, but I know what happened before that. And I can tell you with absolute certainty, not once during that night did I even touch a gun, let alone fire one.”

Phoenix believed him. It had never been a question in the first place, really, not for him. He knew, though, that he wasn’t the one that needed to be convinced. This still hurt Daredevil’s testimony, but they could work with it. Phoenix already saw a few things to poke at, and Athena would no doubt have made a lot of progress by the time she finished with the matrix.

Yet, when he looked at her, Athena was staring at Daredevil, mouth hanging open. 

“Oh,” She said, “ _Oh._ I’m so _stupid_.”

She turned pink as all eyes focused on her. 

The judge chose that moment to speak, his voice unusually grave. The entire defense team jumped in surprise, then acted completely normal in their own small ways, as if nothing had happened.

“Daredevil, does this mean that on the night of the murder, you were...under the influence?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then it sounds to me as if your testimony cannot be considered reliable.”

“No I-” 

“ _OBJECTION!_ ”

It was the judge’s turn to jump, causing him to drop the gavel he’d begun to raise.

“Mr. Wright, what are you objecting to?” He stammered.

“Your Honor, the defense believes this testimony is still useful for this case! Please allow us to finish our cross-examination before dismissing it!”

“Mr. Wright…” The judge’s tone came out as a warning, but Phoenix ignored it. If asked, he would say he never heard it.

“The drugs only affected the witness after the first shot was fired, meaning any testimony before that moment is still completely reliable!”

“Yet that was not the part of the testimony your co-defense was questioning.”

“Please, Your Honor, I believe the truth of that night is buried in that testimony!”

The judge sighed.

“I don’t like my time being wasted.”

“I’m almost done!” Athena added, eyes pleading. “Just a few more minutes!”

“I still have no reason to trust that part of his testimony. Unless you can give me a good reason to trust it, please contain your cross-examination to the testimony before that.”

Athena glared, ready to argue, but Phoenix was quick to cut in.

“Daredevil. You said the first shot hit the crate, meaning you heard it before inhaling any powder, correct?”

The now familiar smirk returned to the vigilante’s face. Did he already realize where Phoenix was going? That was a stupid question, wasn’t it? They’d discussed it all last night, after all.

“Yes. The shot came from the south, which was my left at the time.”

“Where were the defendant and victim?”

“Both were in front of me. The defendant was behind the victim on the ground. Unhurt, but dazed.”

“And you’re sure about that?”

“Completely.”

Phoenix turned to the judge.

“Daredevil has testified in court before, and is trusted by many in the New York legal system, including the original prosecutor on this very case!” That was probably a stupid thing to say, especially if Nelson’s concerned expression was anything to go by, but it was probably better to just keep going. “He has no reason to give anything other than truthful and reliable testimony now, he gains nothing regardless of whether or not the defendant is declared guilty or innocent. This means not only did he not shoot the victim, but based on his testimony, we can summarize that neither did the defendant!”

The courtroom again buzzed with noise, but Phoenix just raised his voice.

“The real shooter was in a completely different position. After the first shot they took advantage of the chaos they’d created to drive off Daredevil, kill the victim, and frame my client! He even went so far as to remove the first bullet he’d fired so that nobody would know two shots had been fired. This explains all of the inconsistencies in this case, and-”

He was starting to get drowned out by the crowd. It forced him to finally go quiet, waiting as once again the judge slammed down his gavel.

“At this rate I’m going to need a new one,” he complained, “Mr. Wright, I sincerely hope you have some sort of proof for any of this. First of all, who even is this convenient mystery shooter? Last time it was Daredevil, so I’m quite curious who it will be this time.”

Phoenix winced at the sharp tone and ignored the several sympathetic looks sent his way. He couldn’t even say he didn’t deserve the judge’s ire.

He took a deep breath.

“Joe Regular.”

***

You had to give it to him, Regular was a dedicated actor. He walked into the room wide eyed and confused, which quickly turned to fear when he saw Daredevil. The vigilante sat off to the side, away from the witness stand, but still in clear view. 

“What is he doing here?” Regular demanded, finger pointing accusingly. “I thought this was safe, but now you’ve put me in the same room as this murderer!”

“Please calm down Mr. Regular,” Nelson responded evenly, “I requested he stay. Daredevil is essentially an anonymous witness who I consider a flight risk. If he is allowed to leave now, and we need his testimony again, there is no guarantee we could get him back.”

“And what, you think you can stop him?”

“I’ll certainly do my best.”

Nelson was a champion at keeping a poker face, but Daredevil on the other hand, not so much. Even from where he stood Phoenix could see how hard Daredevil was trying to not laugh.

“Ugh. Why am I even here? I gave my testimony and I stand by it.” Regular punctuated his statement with a glare at Daredevil.

Nelson started speaking, but Phoenix found himself only half listening. Daredevil had tilted his head towards the bailiff with a curious expression. Phoenix watched as someone stepped half out of a back doorway (they seemed familiar too, though Phoenix couldn’t place why) and motioned for the bailiff to follow. They disappeared for a moment, then reappeared, the bailiff now holding a generic manilla folder and a somewhat confused look on his face.

“We called you back in, Mr. Regular, because there has been several serious contradictions between the testimonies given for this case. It has been suggested that you did not tell us everything before, or are even still outright lying, despite your assurances otherwise.”

Regular laughed, the sound ugly and harsh.

“That’s it? Is there any actual evidence that anything I said was a lie? Anything besides the word of an anonymous vigilante who works outside the law?”

Phoenix’s attention snapped back to the courtroom.

“Daredevil has testified in court before, his testimony has helped in many-”

“A lot of criminals have testified in court. Doesn’t mean they aren’t still criminals,” Regular said bluntly. What, he couldn’t even let Phoenix finish his sentence now? What happened to the nice, bumbling dock worker?

“You don’t have any right to-”

“Right?” Regular scoffed. “Judge, I know I’m no lawyer, but I’m not so sure either of these guys are either, so I have to ask; is there really any reason for me to be back in here? There’s no evidence disproving my testimony, right?”

The judge looked down at the table in front of him, momentarily lost in thought.

“I have presided over many trials where the testimony of a witness became a key factor in finding the truth. I allowed you to be brought in again today partially for that reason, and partially because Daredevil does indeed have a reputation in New York as a trustworthy hero and witness on stand. The testimony given here by Daredevil makes me inclined to believe there’s more to this story, despite the many issues it also caused. I believe he didn’t intend to hide any truth from this court, even if the circumstances of his testimony were strange. But,” The judge sighed, the only sound in the courtroom, “you are correct that no new evidence has been submitted to counter your previous testimony, Mr. Regular. I’m beginning to believe nobody who was there that night got a truly clear view of what happened. This has been a long trial, but ultimately, without any new decisive evidence, I believe we’ve found ourselves back where we started. I had hoped more testimony might shed light on this case, but if you say you have nothing more to add, and the defense and prosecution have no evidence to give reason to ask for more testimony…”

The judge paused, as if hoping something would happen. As if Phoenix would have another hidden ace to pull out, to turn the tides. Instead, all he could do was stare in disbelief, unable to comprehend how everything turned so quickly. He could see his two employees panicking next to him, but there was nothing to say. 

Someone cleared their throat. For a moment, Phoenix tried to understand why the judge’s voice sounded so off, before his brain finally caught up.

The bailiff stepped forward, folder held out, clearly very uncomfortable.

“Sorry to interrupt Your Honor, but it seemed like a good time. I received this from Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, and was asked to hand it to you before the trial ended.”

“What, right now? I’m about to hand down my verdict!”

“Er. Apparently he did specify you see them before the trial ended.”

The judge frowned.

“Well, if it’s from Edgeworth, it must be important. Go on, hand them over!”

The judge squinted. He raised the papers up into the air, then pulled them close to his face. For a moment his eyes went wide in shock. Phoenix leaned forward, waiting for whatever this revelation would be, before the judge reached over and pulled out reading glasses.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Athena muttered. Phoenix silently agreed.

After several moments of uncomfortable silence, the judge set the papers back down.

“If the counselors could approach the bench.”

Wait, what? 

Phoenix shrugged his shoulders at the looks Athena and Apollo gave him before moving to stand directly in front of the judge. Nelson joined him, though Phoenix couldn’t get a good idea of what kind of look he had, since his gaze was focused on some sort of silent conversation between him and Daredevil.

The judge handed down two sets of paper to Phoenix and Nelson.

“There were multiple sets of the documents here. No doubt the Chief Prosecutor wanted to ensure everyone had a copy. This is extremely vital information to this trial, and I believe, Mr. Wright, you’ve found something else to have our witness testify about.”

Phoenix had no idea if the judge was trying to be quiet, but if so, he was doing a terrible job. His voice didn’t ring as loudly as normal, but it was more than enough to reach Regular.

“What is that?” He called out, still full of confidence. “Come on judge, weren’t you about to end this so we could go home already?”

“I was, because of a lack of new evidence. What I just received, however, changes that.”

It sure did. Phoenix could kiss Edgeworth right now. Hell, next time he saw the man he _would_ kiss him if he didn’t think it would send Edgeworth into a panic. 

Phoenix smiled up at Regular.

“These are documents from King Shipping, owned by the same woman who once employed both the defendant and the victim. They include off the book records kept of possibly illicit business done under the guise of a legitimate company. Strangely enough, your name is listed as one of the ‘unofficial’ employees.”

It was hard not to enjoy the blood slowly draining from Regular’s face.

“Oh, there’s also a confession from Ms. King here. Apparently she admitted to hiring Quent and Cotics to move illegal goods into L.A. All in all, a very interesting read.”

A small cough from behind broke Phoenix’s chain of thought.

“Yes, that’s all very good Mr. Wright, but could you please go back to your bench?”

“Oh.” Heat rushed to his face. Nelson had long since made his way back to his own bench, leaving Phoenix alone in the middle of the room. “Right, yeah, of course, sorry about that.”

He shuffled back behind his bench, ignoring everyone around him as he puffed up his chest in an attempt to regain his temporarily missing confidence. 

“These documents are irrefutable evidence that you were connected to the events that occured the night of the murder!”

Regular sneered, his face twisting with the expression.

“That’s it? That’s your big evidence? That doesn’t prove a thing! I’ve done a few odd jobs for Ms. King, yeah, but if they were illegal I never knew it. I helped transport things through the docks, that’s all. It’s a shame if she turned out to be a criminal, but it has nothing to do with me.”

“Don’t try to wiggle out now Regular, nobody believes you!”

“Objection!”

It took a moment for the word to register in Phoenix’s mind. It was much softer than he was used to, but painfully familiar all the same. He forced himself to look at Nelson, who once again wore a stone-faced look. 

“While these documents do clearly connect the witness to Ms. King, Mr. Regular is correct that they do not explicitly connect him to criminal activities. However, I do find it interesting that he was listed as an ‘unofficial’ employee, and believe that requires further examination.”

Phoenix’s heart lifted a little as he watched the judge nod along, but Regular was quick to yank it back down.

“Is that right? Well good luck getting anything before the end of the day. Last day of this trial and all.”

Phoenix was numb. Every time they got close, Regular slipped away again. No matter what Phoenix tried, nothing worked. He hated how easily Regular refuted everything he said. He hated how the judge always agreed, how the entire court system fought him at every step. He hated knowing he was about to fail, sending an innocent man to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. 

The judge started to talk, but Phoenix couldn’t catch any of it when Apollo grabbed his shoulder and started shaking.

“Mr. Wright, his hat!”

“What?” Phoenix glanced up at the judge, distracted. Did he say something about a verdict?

Apollo forced Phoenix’s attention back on him. His eyes shone with determination. 

“Daredevil hit somebody with his baton, right? We have a blood sample and everything, and nobody else’s blood matched, and none of them even had a matching wound! That’s how we prove he was there!”

Phoenix was completely focused on Apollo now. He almost hugged him right then. He really did love these kids.

Well, except when Athena and Apollo both yelled an objection before Phoenix had a chance. Then he felt a little more like pouting.

“His hat?” The judge asked before Apollo could finish explaining.

“His hat,” Daredevil said to himself, probably much louder than he intended.

“My _hat?_ ” Regular spat.

“His hat.” Apollo confirmed. “If he was the shooter, then he’s likely the person Daredevil wounded, and the source of the unidentified blood! Throughout this entire trial Mr. Regular has worn the same beanies that cover most of his head. The defense demands he remove it so we can see if he has that wound or not! If so, we can perform a blood test and prove once and for all whether or not he was there!”

“Hmm. Considering the new evidence we’ve received today, from the Chief Prosecutor no less, I would say it’s a more than reasonable request. Witness, please remove your hat for the court.”

Regular reflexively gripped the side of his beanie. His entire body tensed up, ready to fight. Or run. 

“Are you kidding me? What kind of nonsense court is this that you’d make a hard working man like myself strip in front of strangers? Huh?”

“...Please don’t strip.” Athena said with a shudder. Phoenix suppressed his own mildly horrified reaction.

“What’s wrong, Regular? It’s just a hat. If you really are innocent, this is the perfect way to finally prove it.”

“Oh shut up you hack of a lawyer! This is ridiculous! This is harassment! I’ll sue every one of you!”

Regular stopped, mouth snapping shut as his eyes were pulled to the side, latching on to Daredevil, who had chosen that moment to slowly rise from his seat.

“Oh don’t mind me,” Daredevil said with a smirk, “just running to the bathroom. Though if you plan to sue me I’d appreciate you letting me know now. I don’t need to prepare or anything, I just don’t want to cause a disruption with my laughter.”

There was a beat of silence. Daredevil raised his hand in a little wave and turned to leave, which truthfully, Phoenix didn’t think he was allowed to do. The trial wasn’t even over yet! But then again, who would stop the man?

“You… _you_...you son of a _bitch!_ This is all your fault you overrated piece of crap!” Regular was _actually_ spitting now, eyes wild with a newfound rage. His entire personality had turned on a dime, all sense of the character he’d been playing gone. 

“Witness, control yourself!” The judge demanded. Regular didn’t even spare him a look. His attention was completely focused on the vigilante, who had finally turned back to face Regular fully. His smirk showed teeth now, a sharp and intimidating smile. That should have been Regular’s first warning.

“What’s my fault, exactly? You confessing?”

Regular shouted a wordless noise of fury as he lunged, jumping away from the witness stand and launching himself at Daredevil. The man sidestepped it like it was nothing, ducking around a swing before grabbing Regular’s arm and twisting it up behind him until he had the man held fast in front of him. Daredevil quickly freed one hand to swipe over Regular’s head, ripping off the beanie and sending is sliding across the floor. Regular kept fighting, even with the bandage over the top of his forehead in clear view. He fought even as the bailiffs took over, three of them having to come over to keep him restrained as they dragged him away, his now nearly inhuman snarls echoing down the halls. 

And still, the smirk never left Daredevil’s face, right through the judge’s entire end-of-trial spiel. 

“I declare the defendant, Not Guilty!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to do an epilogue, hopefully in the next day or two.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winding down after the trial

“Ican’tbelieveyouactuallydiditI’msohappyI’llalwaysbeinyourdebtIcan’tbelievethis!”

“Y-yeah, I’m happy it worked out too-oh, uh, I can’t breath, can you-”

Quent just squeezed harder. Phoenix was forced to go quiet just to conserve air. It left him a little dizzy when Quent finally let go.

The man had been sobbing ever since the end of the trial. Phoenix couldn’t blame him, the whole thing had been a hell of a ride, and he was beyond relieved it was over. Still, did Quent have to cry on his suit? He’d just gotten it cleaned!

“We should be thanking Apollo! You totally saved the day at the end there!” Athena beamed at Apollo, making him go a little red with embarrassment. 

“Mr. Wright is the one who found the evidence. And we wouldn’t have even gotten that far without your Matrix.”

“Soooo, we’re all amazing? Got it!”

Phoenix laughed. He couldn’t help himself, all the stress pouring out and transforming into relief. 

“I’m just glad we got through it. But you both did great in there, and I’m proud.”

Apollo beamed. Athena gave a strange little smile, but turned to Quent before Phoenix could really question it.

It wasn’t long before Quent disappeared, excited to continue his life as a free man (with several teary promises to stay on the straight and narrow from now on. Phoenix hoped he stuck to that). Phoenix was more than ready to leave himself, maybe pick up Trucy and go get celebratory noodles, and probably ice cream after that, if he was being honest. He didn’t get more than two steps before Athena stopped him with an unusually icy gaze.

“Mr. Wright, you _knew_ , didn’t you?”

“What? Knew what?” Apollo glanced between them. “What are you talking about Athena?”

“I’m talking about Daredevil! You knew he was coming because you knew who he was before the trial! I only figured it out during the trial but you-”

“Athena-”

“ _You know who Daredevil is?_ ” Apollo shouted, causing both of his co-workers to cringe. 

“Well they sounded the same, and it was obvious when I realized-”

“Wait-” 

“-That Prosecutor Murdock mysteriously disappeared on top of it all. I just don’t know why you didn’t trust us!”

“ _Prosecutor Murdock?_ ”

“Both of you-” 

“BUT HE’S BLIND!” 

Athena and Phoenix instinctively covered their ears. Apollo was always loud, but this would probably echo through the entire building. Athena was already opening her mouth, her glare directed at Apollo this time. Apollo himself was too stunned to notice, and clearly far from done.

Phoenix took a quick breath, preparing his courtroom voice as best he could.

“ _HOLD IT!_ ”

Finally, that was enough to get them both quiet. 

“Look,” He started again, voice just a shade below his normal volume now, “it’s a long story, and I promise I’ll tell you all of it later, but...yeah, I found out who Daredevil is- _wait_. Yes, he’s Murdock _please both of you wait_. I didn’t tell you because...well because I knew he was hiding something. I knew he wasn’t the bad guy, but he also wasn’t telling the entire truth. Talking about the case before hand, laying out how everything would go, it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision. I needed neither of you to know so you could go in unbiased, so you could dig and find the real truth. And you both did amazing, exactly as I knew you would. I didn’t tell you because I trusted you to do what I couldn’t do myself.”

He paused, ready for the next barrage. It became far too literal when Athena rammed into him, arms wrapping around him in a vice. His suit was still wrinkled from earlier, too.

“I’msorryMr.WrightIdidn’tknowIshouldhavetrustedyouI-”

Oh god now she sounded like Quent. 

“No Athena, it’s ok, I understand you being upset with me for not telling you everything before.” 

She let go. Phoenix was grateful for the use of his lungs again, for the whole two seconds he had it. Athena grabbed Apollo and pulled him over so she could crush both of them. Athena spoke again, though her voice was a little distorted from this position.

“You’re cleaning the toilets for _weeks_ Mr. Wright.” 

Damn.

***

“BUT HE’S BLIND!”

Foggy’s head jerked up and turned towards the sound. So it really was that loud, huh?

“What the hell was that?”

“It’s proof that I was right,” Matt said, “That woman on the defense- Ms. Cykes -she figured out who I was after all.”

He’d suspected as much during the trial, but hearing her say it was something else. He ‘sounded’ the same? It was true he could only disguise his voice so much without the help of technology, but most people weren’t so quick to think a blind man could be Daredevil. She’d said she ‘heard’ emotions; did it have something to do with that? How did that even work? Of course most people could pick up on different tones of voice emotion created, but somehow guessing he’d accidentally inhaled drugs from listening to his tone? His hearing was better than almost everyone’s and he never would have made that kind of leap. Maybe it had really been more of an educated guess-

“Are you going to answer me or just keep overthinking things?”

“I never overthink,” Matt responded immediately. Foggy rolled his eyes.

“Sure, buddy. Does that mean you’re ok though? With all of them knowing?”

Matt tilted his head, still half listening to the conversation between the defense. It was a little insulting to hear Wright didn’t trust him, but at the same time, it was hard to really blame him. Maybe it was a little annoying, but more than anything, Matt felt respect.

“I’m not really worried. I’m not sure they’re the best at keeping secrets but it’s not like they have any proof. I’ve weathered worse rumors before.”

Matt pushed himself off the wall. He was still in full costume. He wasn’t really worried about somebody managing to sneak up on them, but it was still light out, and he didn’t want to jump out the window without his mask. Again. Of course that was why he had a back-up set of normal clothes and a brand new case (courtesy of Foggy) to hold his glasses. He turned towards the bag holding them, debating.

“Don’t even think about it,” Foggy warned, “You will not stroll out there as Murdock. Murdock is in the _hospital_ , remember?”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Matt tried his best to sound genuinly wounded. Foggy didn’t believe it for a second, only raising his eyebrows.

“Mhm.”

Foggy picked up his own briefcase and adjusted his tie.

“Talk to you soon.” 

Everytime Foggy left a room it was as if he pulled along some force with him, his own personal field of gravity that only affected Matt. 

Then he was gone, leaving Matt alone to deal with his own little beat up heart. He smiled, if a little bitterly, at the imagery, before picking up his things and leaping out of the window.

He had a few free hours to kill, after all. May as well do something fun.

***

Phoenix was truly beginning to wonder if Murdock had any sort of common sense or knowledge of basic human social conventions. He had to know how obvious he was just ‘casually’ leaning against a wall directly in Phoenix’s path. At least he’d changed back into normal clothes, no red costume in sight. 

Well.

“Do you usually wear red boots with suits like that?” Phoenix asked once he’d gotten close enough.

“How would I know?” Murdock said with a smirk.

“Alright. Then do you usually follow people like this?”

“Hey, I just wanted to talk for a moment. I was going to go to your house, even knock on your door and everything, but you went the wrong way.”

Phoenix smiled at a passing couple giving them a strange look. Even with him trying to maneuver them both further to the side and off the main path, it was way too light outside and crowded for this. True, he was originally going to head straight home, but he decided on a whim to make a quick detour. 

“You know insinuating you know where I live doesn’t help your case, right?”

Finally, Murdock frowned.

“It’s not like I looked your address up, I just remembered from the last time I was there.”

Right, that mess.

“First, that was my office, not my apartment. Second, you never did explain that very well.”

“I was just following someone I knew who was involved. I’d hoped to talk to them. Wasn’t really expecting you to be there,” He explained (poorly), “Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

Murdock’s tone changed into something more sincere.

“I guess I didn’t really want to talk either. I just wanted to say thank you. I threw a lot at you, but you made it all turn out ok in the end. I...appreciate everything you’ve done during this trial. Really.”

“Oh. You’re welcome, I guess. But I wasn’t doing it for you.”

It came out a lot meaner than Phoenix intended, leaving him scrambling. 

“Not that I’m trying to insult you! It’s just, it’s my job to find the truth, that’s all.”

He shoved both hands into his suit pockets. His fingers brushed the magatama, and after everything, two psychelocks still hovered over Murdock. One sat in the center of his vision, a deep black, the kind of psychelock he could never break, even if he knew how. One normal one still sat there as well though, just to the side, a familiar red lined with gold. 

“What is that?” Murdock blurted out. Right, crap. Phoenix had forgotten about the extent of Murdock’s senses. He still wasn’t sure he entirely understood how they worked. 

“I’m sorry, I was just curious, but you don’t have to answer.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s...it’s something called a magatama. It was given to me by a very good friend of mine. I can see when people are lying and hiding things from me with it, usually only when I’m holding it. It can be useful during cases.”

“I imagine so.” Murdock’s voice had gone distant, and a couple octaves higher. Phoenix shouldn’t have said any of that, but even this reaction was more than worth it.

“I don’t like to use it outside of cases, though. Especially with friends.” 

Something like guilt flashed across Murdock’s face.

“That’s a good policy with something like that.”

There it was, that perpetual melancholy. Phoenix had seen it a few times. Mostly he just assumed it was part of being a super hero. They spent a lot of time brooding, after all. But he knew some people who would never forgive him if he left it like that.

He wouldn’t be happy with himself if he left it like that.

“I have something to do first, but later me and everyone from my office is going out for a celebratory dinner. You and Mr. Nelson can come if you want, if you’re not busy or flying back to New York or anything.”

Murdock only hesitated for a moment.

“What’s the address?”

***

Like he thought, Edgeworth was still in his office, working diligently at his desk until Phoenix barged in.

“I heard the trial went well. Congratulations, Wright.”

“We wouldn’t have done it without you, Miles. Thank you.”

Edgeworth managed to choke on air, coughing for a second before pulling himself back together.

“Yes, well, you’re welcome. I’m glad I was of some help.”

Phoenix could almost swear a small blush was building on the other man’s face. He moved closer, leaning down with his hands on the desk. “Then I need to ask you another favor.”

Edgeworth instantly turned wary. 

“And what would that be, exactly.”

Phoenix smiled wide enough to show teeth.“Ok, hear me out; a Prosecutor, Defense attorney and vigilante walk into a restaurant…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of rushed this but I'm just very glad to be officially done. I'm not the best writer but I'm very glad I actually finished this. However silly this whole thing is, just finishing a fic this long is enough to make me pretty happy. Thank you to anyone who read! Very sorry for any mistakes/typos/general bad writing, but I appreciate anyone and everyone who stuck through to the end!  
> I hope you all have a lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a convo with tanya3140 (Who should be tagged as a co-creator) and then a one shot while I was tired and now this. If you need somebody to blame for this, blame him, it's just as much his fault this exists as it is mine. The crime scene is even based on a sketch he did that may or may not get posted if he ever finishes it. He's @Miles3140 on both tumblr and twitter if you want to look at his other art.


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